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Police forces across the UK are warning shoppers about a rise in “porch piracy”, an emerging criminal trend involving doorstep parcel thefts that is costing businesses and consumers millions of pounds.
In one east London borough, police have put up posters in the lobbies of flats, while in other areas forces are using social media to provide tips on how to make life more difficult for thieves.
More than 3.5m UK homes lost at least one delivery to thieves during the 12 months from July 2023 to August 2024, according to figures recently issued by the mailing equipment company Quadient.
Related: From cat litter to incontinence pads: UK shoppers on how ‘porch pirates’ got caught out
November and December are the busiest times of year for porch pirates, according to Quadient’s figures, with Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas.
The company obtained the figures from freedom of information requests to police forces after discovering that data on parcel theft was not readily available.
It calculated that the total value of parcels stolen across the UK rose to £376m in the past year – up from £204m in 2023. However, the true figure is thought to be much higher, as only a fraction of thefts are reported to the police.
Metropolitan police safer neighbourhood teams in areas including upmarket Kingston upon Thames in south-west London have been highlighting the possibility of theft, as have police in Northwich in Cheshire and Wiltshire.
In Barking and Dagenham in east London, the Gascoigne safer neighbourhoods team has this month been putting up parcel theft crime prevention posters in apartment buildings warning: “Parcel thefts are happening in your area.”
But Quadient said a lack of data on the thefts meant customers were being left in the dark about the risk.
“Delivery companies contracted by retailers have to keep a record of delivery failures, but it’s vital that the public is also aware of the volume of thefts so they can try to mitigate the risk,” Gary Winter, the firm’s vice-president of global strategic initiatives, said. “If you live in a flat in London, for instance, there’s a one in three chance you will have a parcel stolen.”
Sportswear is three times more likely to be stolen than other goods because of branded packaging and a high resale value, Quadient found.
People who live in blocks of flats were 24% more likely to have a package stolen from outside their home than those living in a house, while shoppers aged under 34 were the most likely to report a theft.
While many parcels are stolen from outside homes by opportunist thieves, it seems unscrupulous delivery drivers are also defrauding customers.