Police in Jacksonville’s beaches issue warning about ‘porch pirates’ ahead of the holiday season

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — With the holidays approaching and many people choosing online shopping, police warn about potential porch pirates stealing presents from your front yard.

With doorbell cameras being all the rage, families have caught people taking their packages off their porch, the thieves being deemed “porch pirates.”

John Bowman owns Forgotten Toybox on the Southside and ships out items to his customers weekly. Sometimes, the products don’t make it.

[RELATED: Porch pirate steals St. Augustine couple’s special holiday gift]

“You see all the videos online. People just don’t even care anymore about it,” Bowman said. “We’ve had customers who shows ‘delivered’ on our end, but you know, clear as day, it’s gone.”

Commander Mark Evans with Jacksonville Beach Police said they saw an uptick in package thefts this spring.

So far this year, families across the country have lost $5.4 billion in stolen packages, according to a recent survey. That breaks down to about $157 per family.

“2020 has been so different,” Evans said. “Everyone’s ordering everything online now. It’s going to be especially crazy near Christmas time, but we’ve already seen this in the spring.”

[RELATED: Doorbell video catches porch pirate stealing presents from Jacksonville, Clay County homes]

Evans suggests buying a camera and filing a police report if you have something stolen.

“Once you realize that you have a package missing, first thing to do is to know what that package is, who is it coming from, and what’s inside that package,” Evans said. “If you have video, that’s great, because that’s how we break most of these cases.”

He adds that there is also informed delivery, which helps track mail.

“United States Postal Service has a really good app,” Evans said. “I actually use it for my family. You can actually look at every piece of mail that you’re supposed be getting that day.”

This year, the Neptune Beach Police Department is hosting its 2nd annual “Holiday Package Delivery Program Kick-Off.” The NBPD will accept your holiday package deliveries at the station in an effort to prevent thefts. You must be a Neptune Beach resident to take advantage.

[CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Woman appears to be Amazon delivery driver, steals package from front porch]

Cox Media Group