COVINGTON, Ky. — Despite the growing use of doorbell cameras and a new Kentucky law that makes porch piracy a felony, packages outside of people’s homes continue to be stolen, particularly so during the holiday season.

The Elsmere Police Department says a home on Garvey Avenue was the victim of porch piracy just last week. Luckily, the people who live there had Ring camera footage of the suspects.

Police say if anyone recognizes the suspects, they should contact the Elsmere Police Department, and “be aware this is going on in the city.”

What You Need To Know

  • Despite the growing use of doorbell cameras and a new Kentucky law that makes porch piracy a felony, packages outside of people’s homes continue to be stolen

  • It's especially been bad during the holiday season, when more people order things online

  • To keep packages safe, Kentuckians should take advantage of tracking information that’s commonly available, or ask carriers to place items in more secure locations

  • Having access to footage more often as doorbell cameras become more affordable and more prevalent makes catching porch pirates a lot easier

Matthew Winship, Captain of the Patrol Bureau for the Covington Police Department, said package theft tends to tick up this time of year.

“When you look at the amount of e-commerce, things being shipped to homes and those kinds of things, you’re going to see more opportunities for these things to happen,” Winship said. “Some things that might be of value left on a porch or a stoop or something like that, someone could quickly and easily grab ahold of it and leave the area.”

Having access to footage more often as doorbell cameras become more affordable and more prevalent makes catching porch pirates a lot easier, Winship said. And they’re now subject to harsher penalties.

Earlier this year, Gov. Andy Beshear signed a law to fight porch piracy, making the penalty for stealing or destroying packages from carriers like UPS or Amazon the same as doing so to deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service.

What was once a misdemeanor is now a felony offense. Despite this, people continue to steal packages.

“I’m in my 20th year of law enforcement, and I’ve come to realize that nothing is surprising anymore,” Winship said.

To keep packages safe, Winship said to take advantage of tracking information that’s commonly available, ask a neighbor or family member to take the package and hold onto it until you’re home, or even give the company instructions to drop it off in a more secure location like the backyard.

In another holiday alert, the Secret Service says to be on the lookout for counterfeit money being manufactured and passed during the holiday season. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office shared some tips from the Secret Service on how to spot the phony currency.

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