Police warn UK shoppers over ‘porch pirates’ stealing parcels from doorsteps
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Total value of parcels stolen estimated at £376m, with Black Friday and run-up to Christmas the worst periods. 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.
![[Amazon delivery left outside house on the doorstep]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/df140bd4f6bf4ae52403bb0a6ac5c2a0eaa17b1a/0_56_4600_2760/master/4600.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
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.
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.
