PHOENIX — A porch pirate snagged a package right off the doorstep of a Phoenix home. An Xbox was inside.
A couple of weeks later, the homeowner has decided to take action.
He’s not only trying to catch the crook, but he’s also hoping that a website he developed helps nab other porch pirates.
“It’s very violating… it makes everybody angry when it happens to them,” said Jacob Pritchett from Phoenix, who made the website after an expensive gift was taken.
“I had an Xbox series X delivered to my house and less than a half-hour later, somebody just came up broad daylight, bare-faced and everything,” he said. “I had the sign that said there was a security camera and there was a security camera at the door, and they didn’t care, they just walked up, they picked it up and then a car came around the corner and picked him up and they left.”
Pritchett filed a report with the Phoenix Police Department, but now he’s taking it one step further with theplank.org.
The porch pirate who came to his door is now shown on the site and so are many others. It’s all in hopes of generating tips to catch all of them.
“We give all the porch pirates pirate names, so this one is 'ScurvyLegs McGee,'” Pritchett said. “So, ScurvyLegs McGee, please give me my Xbox back. But I don’t think he still has it, he probably doesn’t.”
If you are a victim, you can submit details to The Plank about the theft, along with videos and pictures.
Pritchett will then publish the post, which can remain anonymous.
“People do seem to want to help,” he said.
Pritchett anticipates package thefts will only become more of a problem in the future, with a higher percentage of commerce happening through the internet and deliveries.
He hopes his website helps work against the rise in crime.
“We hope it helps combat the problem,” he said.
The goal is to raise awareness and expose these criminals, getting their faces out to as many people as possible.
“I want them to feel less safe and less sure that they’ll get away with this,” Pritchett said. “I want us to be organized enough as a citizenry, that people don’t want to mess with us and take advantage of us… my message for porch pirates is – we’re going to find you. You’re going to walk the plank.”
The simplest way to avoid porch pirates is to use this tracking information to retrieve your package once it's delivered.
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