BATTLING PORCH PIRATES

En garde!

One doorbell video, neighborhood chat and secured mailbox at a time, the duel with porch pirates is on.

Package and mail delivery firms, police and residents brace during the holidays for thefts off the front porch or at the mailbox. Thanks to technology, neighbors keeping an eye out and media exposure, the awareness increase is helping keep such thieves at bay, local sources say.

However, isolated cases linger.

Rachel Ortego, who lives in the Lake Forest subdivision in Coeur d'Alene, said she believes she met a thief Tuesday when she opened the door after UPS had delivered packages moments earlier.

"A thin man with a reddish beard was bent over to take the packages, but I startled him when I opened the door," she said. "I could have touched him. He was that close before he ran off. He got in a silver SUV and squealed his tires as he took off."

The man escaped with the packages. Ortego said she was so startled that she didn't get the license plate number.

"I was really thinking it may be someone we know and was waiting for him to turn around and say hi," said Ortego, who described the situation in an online neighborhood chat.

Ortego said she plans to check with neighbors who have nifty motion-activated video doorbells that are compatible with cellphones or other surveillance systems. That way she might obtain a better description of the vehicle.

Post Falls Police Capt. Greg McLean said detectives have set up similar small surveillance devices to crack cases in which illegal activity has been suspected at businesses.

Local police agencies and delivery firms said they haven't noticed a rise in porch or mail thefts this holiday season. However, more suspects are being exposed in other areas and in the media because they’re being caught on camera.

Dawn Wotapka, UPS spokeswoman, said porch pirate incidents have been "relatively flat" over the past few years.

"Media attention has increased due to expanded use of video surveillance technology available to consumers," she said.

McLean said there were four reports in that city during the holidays last year of porch or mail thefts. This year there has been one — Dec. 6 on Palmwood in the Woodbridge subdivision. A description of the suspect was not obtained.

Coeur d'Alene Police has had four reported mail or package thefts since Dec. 1. The cases don't appear to be related and they remain unsolved, spokesman Jay Wilhelm said.

Last year, he said, there were "dozens" of reported victims and a small group of organized offenders was arrested, he said.

"Mail and package thefts are crimes of opportunity," Wilhelm said. "We encourage the community to watch out for one another."

Heather McDaniel, Spirit Lake Police spokeswoman, said such thefts are also down in that city.

"In the past we have gotten a lot more calls about suspicious people and packages disappearing during this time of year," she said.

Requests to receive information from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office and Rathdrum Police were not returned as of deadline on Thursday.

PREVENTATIVE STEPS

Thomas Erny, who owns The UPS Store in Post Falls, said he has noticed more concern from residents who are worried about having packages or mail stolen.

The 250 secured mailboxes that can be rented at the store are taken and he has ordered 125 more to meet the demand.

Such stores serve as a mailroom receiving agent. They offer secure 24-hour access and email or text notification when a package arrives.

"We accept packages from (all delivery firms)," Erny said.

Wotapka said that if people are at work during the day, they can have packages sent to work, a relative or neighbor who is home during those hours.

People can specify where they would like to have the package delivered on the property if they are not home, she said.

Consumers can also sign up for a free service that sends a text message or email the day before a package arrives so they have a better idea when it will be delivered.

Wilhelm said people should track their shipments online. They can choose a shipping option that requires signing for delivery.

Another option is to have packages delivered to a UPS "access point" location such as a UPS Store for free.

With mail, Darin Solmon, a spokesman for the Postal Inspection Service, said residents can take steps to reduce the opportunity for thefts. The easiest and most obvious method is, if you're gone for more than a day, have the post office hold your mail.

Citizens can ask to have packages held at the post office, which will notify them in the mail when they arrive.

If possible, outgoing mail should be placed in your box perhaps an hour or less before the pick-up service normally arrives, not several hours, he said.

"If you lessen the exposure, you lessen the chance that your mail will be taken," Solmon said.

If it isn't too much of an inconvenience, residents may consider dropping off their outgoing mail at a blue mail collection bin or the post office instead of using their unsecured box at home.

Trustworthy neighbors can also be asked to pick up your mail if you don't have it stopped at the post office.

It's also a good idea to notify friends or relatives when you are sending them a package so they can watch for it.