Gardai warn people to be on guard for scourge of "porch pirate" thieves this Christmas

Gardaí have warned punters to be on the alert for thieves stealing parcels from their front doors in the run up to Christmas.

So-called porch piracy – where criminals steal parcels left at houses by delivery drivers while the occupant is away from home – is a major issue in the United States and officers are now warning people on this side of the Atlantic to be wary of it.

Frances Murphy, who is a community Garda based in Bandon in Co Cork, has warned people in the area after a theft there in recent days. Garda Murphy told Patricia Messinger on C103's Cork Today show on Thursday afternoon that opportunist criminals were always on the prowl – especially in the run up to Christmas.

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Garda Murphy said people could take simple precautions to beat the porch pirates. She said: “It is coming up to Christmas now and more and more people are shopping online.

"We had an incident in west Cork a few days back where a lady received a message to say her items were delivered. When she went to get them at the end of her roadway they weren’t there. We are presuming that they were taken.”

Garda Murphy said people could enlist the help of neighbours – or even buy parcel safes to protect their deliveries.

She told Patricia: “We will have opportunists that are looking out for an easy target. If you are not at home, if you are out working, maybe you could get your items delivered to a family member, a neighbour who is at home all day.

“There are different safes you can invest in where the postman can put it into the safe just to be extra vigilant – it’s not always easy but just keep it in mind going forward.”

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