Palos Park police are looking for a porch pirate caught on camera swiping a package from a home on Brookside Drive near 119th Street.
It happened at 5:36 p.m. on Jan. 27—the video shows a white female in a hoodie walking up, grabbing the package and taking off. A short time later, she met up with a white man, also in a hoodie, and the two headed southbound on Brookside Drive. No vehicle has been identified yet, but police are reviewing security footage.
Package theft is a growing issue nationwide, with an estimated 260 million deliveries stolen in 2023, leading to nearly $19.5 billion in losses. Palos Park isn’t immune to the trend, and Police Chief Joe Miller said this kind of theft isn’t uncommon.
“We’ve had reports of people finding ripped-open boxes dumped along major roads,” he said. “They grab a package, take what they want and toss the empty box somewhere else.”
Some delivery drivers have even reported being followed. “There are cases where delivery drivers report people following them,” Miller said.
In those cases, the thieves will follow the delivery trucks, wait for drivers to drop off any packages and then swoop in.
“The driver will make a delivery, send a picture, and within a few minutes, someone’s running up to grab it,” Miller said.
With package theft on the rise, Miller said people need to be proactive. The best way to avoid getting hit? Don’t leave packages sitting outside for long.
“Delivery drivers will send you a picture when they drop off a package, so, if you’re home, grab it right away,” he said. “Or have a neighbor pick it up so it’s not sitting outside for hours.”
There are other ways to make deliveries less of a target, like Amazon Lockers, UPS Access Points or other secure pickup spots. Security cameras and motion lights can help, but they don’t always stop it from happening.
“If you have a video doorbell and your neighbor doesn’t, it may be more tempting for them to go to your neighbor’s house instead,” Miller said.
Police are asking anyone with information or security footage to call the Palos Park Police Department at 708-448-2191. They also encourage residents in the area to check their doorbell cameras for any suspicious activity around the time of the theft. And if a package gets stolen, report it—not just to police, but also to the shipping carrier.
It would help if the delivery drivers would ring the doorbell. Even if they just hit it and run.