You’ve probably heard the term, “Porch Pirate.” That refers to someone who thinks they have the right to come onto people’s porches and steal whatever packages they see. Even though it’s a crime, this activity has increased dramatically over the years.
Why porch stealing?
Simply put, criminals think it’s an easy way to get stuff without paying for it. Especially during the holiday season when people commonly have items delivered through various couriers, packages on porches are in abundance. For the person who made the purchase, it’s maddening.
Cracking down
Because porch pirates are super busy, police are doing everything they can to catch the criminals. But at the same time, residents are fighting back. Today, a lot of people have ring cameras. Even if the packages get stolen, they at least have hard evidence that can help cops find the crooks.
Caught in action
For one woman by the name of Kate Anderson, she experienced this first-hand. When a porch pirate approached a home where she worked as a nanny, she happened to be there at the time. Let’s just say this crook picked the wrong house to rob.
Hanging on
Kate took after the porch pirate and succeeded in catching up with her. And determined to not let her go, she held on tightly. For a few seconds, there was a slight scuffle. In the meantime, the family dog named Mona doesn’t offer much help.
Busted
After grabbing the woman, she carts her back to the house. Then, she calls the police. Although it took almost 10 minutes for an officer to arrive, Kate didn’t let go. There was no way this porch pirate was getting away.
Important warning
As you can imagine, law enforcement strongly discourages people from doing what Kate did. Yes, the was successful in nabbing a criminal. But since there’s no way to know if a porch pirate is armed or physically dangerous, this poses too much risk. After all, tangible items can always be replaced…but not human lives.
It went viral
Once the ring camera video was uploaded to social media. People were quite impressed with Kate. So far, it’s garnered more than 2.6 million views. One poster said, “I love that the villain tries to play the victim…haha.”
On her own
Perhaps one of the funniest parts of the video is when the thief’s accomplice takes off. Rather than helping her friend, she drives away. In the video, you see the porch pirate desperately trying to get inside of the vehicle but ultimately, she falls to the ground.
A big problem
According to experts who maintain statistics on porch pirates, approximately 23 million people in the US alone have at least one package taken. Usually, these crooks look for larger parcels they believe contain expensive items. But they aren’t shy about stealing smaller ones, as well as mail.
What you can do
If you have something delivered to your house, you can take some precautionary measures. For instance, have the item delivered to a place where someone will home who can immediately take it inside. You could even have a package delivered to your work or the rental office at your apartment complex.
In the meantime, let the police do their job. But if you want to see what it looks like when an individual isn’t going to let a criminal get away, check out the video below. Good job, Kate.
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Source: YouTube, Parcel Pending
