Let’s protect ourselves from porch pirates

With the holiday shopping season already upon us, Coloradans everywhere are receiving packages from across the country to celebrate with friends and family. But the joy and gratitude of gift-giving season could be cut painfully short by porch pirates — grinches plotting to literally steal Christmas — who are lying in wait.

Rising crime overall in Colorado is being experienced by far too many in our state. Porch pirating, however, isn’t a new issue in Colorado. In fact, last year the Denver metro area passed San Francisco as the worst urban region for the incidence of porch pirate thefts, according to a study by SafeWise. A separate study by security system company CCTV Camera World cited Colorado as having the 13th-highest personal property theft rate in the country.

It seems like, despite the best efforts of my colleagues in law enforcement, the basic problem of porch pirates has gone unchecked. Part of the problem is the strained staff levels and difficulty in policing porch crimes. But the other part is a lax attitude that is reflected in the low penalties for this kind of crime. The result of these factors is that the rise of porch piracy is taking a serious toll on our communities.

Experts have attributed increases in package theft to rising crime, noting that porch pirates often embolden other criminals. This year, law enforcement agencies are seeing dramatic increases in package theft over previous years. The current laws on the books in many states simply don’t leave law enforcement agencies with the tools to address the rise of porch piracy.

The good news is our elected leaders in Washington, D.C. have a chance to get serious about the issue and deal a serious blow to porch piracy by passing the Porch Piracy Act, a common-sense measure with bipartisan support that would make stealing any package a felony, equal to the penalty of stealing USPS mail.

While some states have enacted strong laws to push back against porch piracy, offering their residents greater protections for their packages and freeing up police resources, in many states, including here in Colorado, the current penalties for package theft are minimal. The Porch Piracy Act would help deter thieves and extend protections against package theft for Americans everywhere.

Right now, the bill has the support from lawmakers in Washington on both sides of the aisle, and the legislation has nearly 90 sponsors, including Colorado’s 7th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, who represents much of Jefferson County where I serve as sheriff.

Yet, despite the achingly clear evidence of the problem and a seemingly uncomplicated important solution, leaders in Congress have been slow to vote on the Porch Pirate bill. That’s why we need our elected lawmakers in Washington who support this legislation, like Perlmutter, to take action and push their colleagues in Colorado and across the country to advance this bill.

Rising crime is a serious issue for Coloradans and Americans everywhere, and it’s going to require a serious solution. We need Congress to take action now and pass the Porch Piracy Act to provide Coloradans with protection from theft and free up law enforcement resources to keep our communities safe.

While some states have enacted strong laws to push back against porch piracy, offering their residents greater protections for their packages and freeing up police resources, in many states, including here in Colorado, the current penalties for package theft are minimal.