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Cristen Satre and her husband are excited about the birth of their twins next month so they’ve been shopping. They bought rocketship crib sheets and Star Wars onesies for the boys’ outer space-themed nursery. Between preparing for the birth of their children and shopping for themselves and their corgi, they’ve received a lot of packages. Unfortunately, not all of them have made it inside. Last week, a man in a white baseball cap, carrying a Trader Joe鈥檚 bag stole one of those packages. Satre told 最新蜜桃影像 she feels vulnerable.

鈥淚t would be different if someone took something off the sidewalk,鈥� Satre said. 鈥淏ut to steal from us, they actually have to open our gate, walk into our front yard, reach through our gate that leads to our home, and that makes me feel vulnerable.鈥�

Residents like Satre say porch pirates are taking advantage of the influx of packages to people’s homes.

Package theft is a serious issue that negatively affects the quality of life for many Capitol Hill residents, authorities at the First District Metropolitan Police Department said.

鈥楾hey鈥檙e very swift these days鈥�

Walking through the neighborhood, residents say they see discarded boxes scattered along the sidewalks or in the alleyways.

First District Metropolitan Police Captain Michal Pulliam said this is a common occurrence.

鈥淲e typically find the open packages in an alley,鈥� Pulliam said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l go around the end, open the packages, and dump the actual box that was taken.鈥�

When her neighbor found an empty box with her name and address on it, Devin Stark said she was furious.

鈥淚 work hard to buy certain things,鈥� Stark said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very frustrating. You just feel violated.鈥�

Before the pandemic, Stark says several items were stolen from her front porch, including three dresses she planned to wear to a wedding in South Carolina.

When his package was stolen by a man in bright red shoes, carrying a reusable shopping bag, Cameron Robinson says he felt unsettled.

鈥淚t was disconcerting,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淲hile it wasn鈥檛 someone in my home, it was someone right next to my door. We weren鈥檛 home at the time, but he didn鈥檛 know that. If my wife had answered the door right as he was there, I don鈥檛 know what would have happened.鈥�

In Washington, package theft carries a fine of up to $1,000 if the value of the item is less than $1,000. If the value of the item is greater than $1,000, the fine is as well. The court sets the term of imprisonment.

Robinson has noticed a rise in thefts since March.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely ramping up,鈥� Robinson said. People who鈥檝e lived in Capitol Hill for several years have begun to express concerns with package thefts.

Satre noticed this increase as well.

鈥淚鈥檝e noticed a lot more alerts through Ring, Nest, and Nextdoor,鈥� Satre said. 鈥淚t seems like it鈥檚 the amount that I would normally expect to see around the holidays when people are having a lot of things delivered.鈥�

Although residents say it鈥檚 cumbersome to deal with package thefts, they say package theft is a part of the risk they assume by living in a large city.

鈥楶lease call us鈥�

Part of the risk residents assume by living in the city is having porch pirates cut open packages on their front porch, riffle through the boxes, and discard unwanted items in a nearby alley, one Hill resident said.

Stark, whose family lives in the suburbs outside of Annapolis, Maryland, says she doesn鈥檛 have to worry about porch pirates there.

鈥淪omething can sit out there overnight and I鈥檇 be like, 鈥極h, I forgot. I think I got a notification that something was delivered,鈥欌�� Stark said. 鈥淗ere, I鈥檓 running out the door to make sure I grab it.鈥�

In Capitol Hill, Stark says she has to be diligent when picking up her packages from her front porch.

鈥淚鈥檓 paranoid about it now,鈥� Stark said.

Stark also reroutes her packages to UPS or Amazon Locker instead of home delivery. Although Stark says it鈥檚 a 鈥渉uge inconvenience,鈥� she admits that it鈥檚 a bigger inconvenience to reorder what was stolen.

Robinson, who was burglarized when he lived in Phoenix, Arizona, says both experiences are a reminder to stay vigilant.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a not-so-friendly reminder that it鈥檚 not always rainbows and sunshine,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淭hings do happen and we need to be aware. We need to take the precautions and not let our guard down.鈥�

Satre, on the other hand, prefers not to contact the police when her package is stolen because of the undue burden it places on them.

鈥淭his is not worth the hassle of bothering the police because they will send out a detective and I don鈥檛 want to have a detective come out and interview me about my stolen AA batteries,鈥� Satre said.

Pulliam disagrees.

鈥淧lease call us,鈥� Pulliam said. 鈥淭his is why we鈥檙e here. We鈥檙e here to serve the citizens and it鈥檚 never a burden on us.鈥�

鈥淭he First District Citizens Advisory Council, Inc. and the First District Police encourage residents to report through 911 or the (TRU) when a package is stolen,鈥� the First District Citizens Advisory Council said in a statement to 最新蜜桃影像.

鈥淧olicing is driven by numbers of reported crimes and when we know that a particular block has a high number of thefts, officers are deployed to that area in response.鈥�

Pulliam says the best way to catch porch pirates is to record them with private surveillance and security cameras. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we make most of our closures.鈥�

Residents who do not have Google Nest or a Ring video doorbell can purchase a security camera through Washington鈥檚 .