The holiday season is almost upon us, and many shoppers will await groceries and gifts delivered to their doorstep. But tis the season for porch pirates on the lookout for opportunities to swipe any unsupervised packages.
In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation that made stealing mail and packages a felony instead of a misdemeanor. Under the law, convicted mail thieves could face up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The sentence depends on how many packages an individual takes.
For porch pirates to be charged, neighbors must have three pieces of evidence, said Mike Brown, crime and safety chair for the Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association.
- Neighbors must have video evidence — not a still image — of someone walking up to the porch, picking up the package and walking away with that item. “Not some grainy video of a person that you can’t tell whether it’s a human being or possibly just another typical bad video of a Bigfoot sighting posted on the internet,” Brown said on Nextdoor.
- The video must show the thief walking from the porch and getting into a car. The car’s color and general make must be visible.
- Finally, the video must clearly show the license plate of the vehicle that just drove away with your package. “Most people get No. 1 and No. 2, but you very rarely see a car image leaving the crime scene,” Brown said. Neighbors will simply have to wait until the thief steals again and someone captures a picture of the plate.
