Porch thefts have increased 200% during pandemic: police

'Porch Pirates' targeting pandemic shoppers From CTV Kitchener's Natalie Van Rooy: Waterloo Regional Police say they've seen a 200 per cent increase in the number of parcel thefts.

KITCHENER — Contactless deliveries are becoming more common and while they’re convenient, Waterloo Regional Police say it’s also led to a 200 per cent increase in porch thefts.

There have been 18 reports of parcel thefts since March 17.

“In comparison, we had six parcel thefts during the same timeframe in 2019 and five in 2018.”

A Kitchener man tells CTV News that he caught one thief on his security camera.

The video shows two people walking by Chris St. Laurent’s home in the Chicopee area on April 11.

They notice an Amazon parcel on the front step, and then one of them walks up and takes it.

St. Laurent says he was watching remotely from his smartphone and, as the thief walked away, he used his speaker system to demand the parcel’s return.

“I panicked and didn’t know what to do so I hit the microphone and started yelling at them ‘put it back.’ To my surprise they came back and dropped it on the porch.”

He wasn’t expecting that the would-be thieves would comply.

“I actually said thanks at the very end when they dropped it off. I wasn’t in the right mindset.”

Waterloo Regional Police say to prevent a similar theft, people should keep track of their orders, know the specific delivery time and if you’re not going to be at home at the time of your parcel’s arrival, request that it be held at your local post office.

St. Laurent says he’s already purchased another camera for his home and will be keeping a close eye on future deliveries.