You might not guess the state that has the most thefts of packages from porches. Or maybe you will.
With the holidays in progress, Americans will be spending billions of dollars on presents, and many will be purchased online and delivered to front porches.
That gives those with nefarious intentions riches to plunder.
Package theft has worsened in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic, as the pure volume of packages has enticed more people to engage in the low-skill crime of package piracy.
In 2022 alone, about 260 million parcels have been plundered across America, according to a SafeWise survey of 1,000 Americans. That’s 50 million, or 24%, more packages than were taken in 2021.
According to one study, porch pirates are evenly split between men and women, unusual for most crimes. Offenders tend to be younger and societally reflective of race and ethnicity: 54% were white, 15% were black, 9% were Hispanic, and 3% were Asian.
While the issue is a growing problem across the country, some cities and states are having a much tougher time with the crime than others.
The Best and Worst States for Package Theft
Most of the worst cities for package theft are on the West Coast, with four major cities in California ranking among the 10 worst..
San Francisco was the city with the most incidences of package theft in the country. Sacramento was fifth in the nation, Los Angeles was sixth, and Fresno was eighth.
Even so, among the states whose residents are most worried about package theft, California ranked only 11th.
Outside California, Seattle was the second worst city for package theft and Portland, Ore., was seventh.
Austin (3), New Orleans (10), Milwaukee and Hartford (4) rounded out the top-10.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Florida turned out to be one of the states where the least amount of package theft occurred.
Miami was the best city, Tampa ranked second, and Orlando ranked fourth. San Diego ranked as the ninth best state for package theft.
Detroit (6), Cleveland (5), Cincinnati (7), Nashville (8), Raleigh (3), and San Antonio (10) rounded out the top-ten.
Denver must have figured something out to combat the issue because in 2022 the city fell out of the top 10 for most package thefts, after ranking in the top spot for 2021.
79% Have Lost Packages to Thieves
More than three in four Americans have been victims of package theft in their lifetimes, with 79% of American having been hit in the past 12 months, a 15 percentage point jump from a year earlier.
More than half the people who reported a theft had their packages stolen in the past 12 months. Some 40% of all packages stolen were valued between $50 and $100. This represented an estimated loss of $19.5 billion.
“Package theft is a crime of opportunity. The more packages left for longer periods of time on a porch, the more likely they are to be stolen,” the criminal-justice and package-theft expert Ben Stickle said. “As the Christmas gift season gets into full swing, there will be a significant increase in packages on a porch.
“Add to that: People are busier this time of year and have their routine shifted as they may work later and spend more time away from home shopping or visiting with family and friends. So packages are left sitting exposed on the porch for longer.”
