St. George Police ask for help identifying porch pirate

St. George Police believe the man in this photo to be a porch pirate who stole a package shortly after it was delivered outside someone's doorstep, St. George, Utah, Feb. 7, 2019 | Photo courtesy of the St. George Police Department, St. George News

ST. GEORGE The recent pilfering of a package by a porch pirate has police asking the public for assistance.

The incident, which was recorded by a security camera and shared by the St. George Police Department Monday on its Facebook page, shows a man wearing a hoodie and sunglasses walking up to someone’s porch.

“We all love ordering that perfect item online and then we anxiously await it’s delivery,” the Police Department posted. “Then along comes a porch pirate and steals that item. Urg! How lame. So please help us identity just such a pirate.”

While the video posted by the police is only 14 seconds long, a longer video posted by a commenter in the thread attached to the post shared a longer video that shows the man taking a box from the porch.

According to information posted with the longer video, the theft occurred Feb. 7. The package also didn’t sit for very long after being dropped off, as the porch pirate stole it two minutes after it was dropped off, according to the video post.

The St. George Police Department can be reached at 435-627-4300. Reference incident #19PI00032 in regard to the porch pirate case.

In general, package pilfering is not a common incident in St. George, St. George Police officer Tiffany Atkin said Monday.

Porch pirates are often associated with the holiday season when many people turn to the internet for their shopping needs and have packages delivered to their home.

According to a report by Package Guard, at least 11 million packages were stolen off porches last year.

While some ways to combat the pirates can get creative – like when a Southern Utah man left dog feces in a package for a thief – there are simpler (and less smelly) ways to make sure an order reaches its destination.

Ways to avoid becoming a victim of a porch pirate include:

  • Providing delivery instructions on where a package can be left.
  • Making arrangements with a neighbor or workplace (if allowable) to have packages dropped off there.
  • Make it look like you’re home.
  • Track your packages online like a hawk.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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