Police, neighbors look for ways to stop porch pirates in Massachusetts

ASHLAND – They’re quick, they’re bold and police say porch pirates are out there waiting for the right opportune time to swipe your package right from your front doorstep. 

“I’m watching my back everywhere I go,” said a FedEx delivery driver in Ashland. He says he has seen it firsthand. “Absolutely. I’ve had someone actually stand five feet from a front door. It wasn’t their house; it wasn’t their package and signed for it. Had the fake ID and everything just recently happened,” the driver said.

Packages shipped to police department

Sterling Police Chief Sean Gaudette says the department has a Stop Porch Pirates program allowing residents to have their packages delivered to the station. “Allows people to use our address as their mailing address. Dispatch staff take it in and secure it for the time being then they need to show an ID to get the item out,” Chief Gaudette said. 

The chief says the program has cut down on the amount of porch pirate thefts in the town. 

Akshi Sindhwani of Ashland says he gets packages delivered to his home every week. Many of them are expensive, so on top of his Ring doorbell, he’s taking extra precaution. “I’m planning to put a garage keypad for the Amazon deliveries that come in,” he said. 

Neighborhood watch

Shweta Sharma runs a small business and is constantly shipping things off. She says during the holiday season she and her neighbors must be extra cautious. “Especially during the festive season it’s very bad,” Sharma said. 

In Ashland to help quell porch pirates, they have a neighborhood watch and they call and text each other whenever some gets a package, and they go and pick it up for each other. “If I am not there they will bring into their house, and I bring theirs into my house. And we have everyone’s numbers,” Sharma said. To make sure these packages get delivered to the right person.