Porch Pirates: Local police fighting back

DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WLNE) — It doesn’t matter what’s in it. 

“As long as it’s a package sitting at someone’s door it’s going to be open season,” said Det. Kyle Costa of the Dartmouth Police Department. 

Porch pirates have been casing neighborhoods in Dartmouth and New Bedford–and across America.

“You see a UPS truck, and you follow it, you see where they’re going to deliver it,” said Costa. “Also you see the random trolling of neighborhoods. You literally ride a bike, walk, drive a car through the neighborhood, see the packages and it’s fair game for the bad guys.”

“They delivered it but it got stolen,” said Brittny Gentilucci of New Bedford. 

Gentilucci got a notification from Amazon that the kitchen play set she ordered for her daughter for Christmas had been dropped off at her mom’s apartment complex. But when she got there five minutes later, it had already been swiped from the top of this bank of mailboxes.

“It’s just sad because it’s Christmas time, you know? You work so hard to get your kids toys and stuff for Christmas, and people just feel entitled to take things that aren’t theirs,” said Gentilucci. “It really hurts. I have three kids and I work really hard.”

She struggles to think how someone could be so heartless. 

“If you need help, I’d rather you ask me for help than to just take something from me,” said Gentilucci.

But local police are stepping up their game to combat these modern-day Grinches, thanks to new technology like Ring doorbell cameras and home surveillance systems. 

“The technology nowadays, it’s an extra guy in the cruiser with us, or I should say in our case about 30,000 different detectives helping us work on a case, and it’s tremendous,” said Costa. 

In Dartmouth, police use social media to get the word out, and work with residents to get their hands on footage–to catch the bad guys in the act.

“As far as prosecution value on any case, it’s driven it through the roof because you have a video of somebody doing something, it’s going to help our case a lot more,” said Costa.

Gentilucci says police have yet to catch the culprit in her case, but Amazon is making things right.

“So they sent it in the mail, completely free of charge,” said Gentilucci. So as soon as it gets here I’m going to be right at that door grabbing it because I don’t want it to get snatched again.”

How can you avoid being a victim of porch pirates? Here are some tips:

• Det. Costa urges residents to be vigilant, and know who your neighbors are.
• Buy surveillance or doorbell cameras for your home, or if you live in an apartment building, check whether your building has security cameras.
• Try to make sure someone is going to be home when your package arrives. 
• Sign up for services like Amazon Day or UPS My Choice to specify an alternative delivery location or date. 
• Make sure you’re getting notifications of when your package is delivered.
• Consider investing in a “Smart Garage” device that allows a delivery driver to drop off a package in your garage while you’re away.
• Some towns allow residents to pick up their package at the local public library.

© WLNE-TV / ABC6 2019