I hadn’t heard of the term “porch piracy” until recently when I read an article about it. Basically it involves the theft of packages delivered to a home and left at the front door. Thieves look for opportunities such as this, some even following Fed Ex and UPS trucks as they make their deliveries. This is a very real problem in much of the country, and it’s growing.
Crime in The Glen is not a common occurrence. In fact, there is little of it in this beautiful residential and retail development in Glenview Illinois, about 18 miles north of downtown Chicago. This is an upscale area with home prices ranging from around $400,000 to over $2,000,000. That’s not the community profile one thinks of as a high crime area. But what makes the community so lovely also can make it a target of porch piracy. In an area like ours packages left at the door are likely to be filled with expensive items such as electronics.
I decided to ask the Fed Ex delivery guy who regularly delivers in The Glen how he decides whether to leave a package if there’s no one home to receive it. He told me that the company provides some guidance based on historical data of porch piracy by location, and as a person familiar with the various streets in the The Glen development he uses his best judgment as to whether a theft may occur. I’ve never had a problem myself, and none of my immediate neighbors have ever mentioned it. But all of us in The Glen should be aware of the potential problem.
The most effective way to ensure that your packages won’t be stolen is to require signatures for items that you’ve ordered. Alternatively you can ask that packages only be delivered during hours that someone is likely to be home.
Margaret Ludemann
Glen homeowner and Coldwell Banker Realtor
margaret.ludemann@cbexchange.com 847-401-1802