MORE than sixty parcels were stolen from people’s porches in the last year across west Wales.

A recent freedom of information request to the Dyfed-Powys Police Force which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire found that there had been 63 reported porch thefts across the force for the period between August 1, 2022, and July 31, 2023.

The request was submitted by Quadient to all police forces in the UK, however, not all responded to the request.

You can see the response from each force below:

“The plague of porch piracy has intensified during the cost-of-living crisis, with nationwide parcel theft increasing more than 500% since 2019. Unattended items on doorsteps are just waiting to be stolen," said Katia Bourgeais-Crémel, EVP Parcel Locker Solutions Europe at Quadient.

“The number reported to the police could have increased in part due to better awareness of the importance of reporting. However, when you consider more than one in ten households had a parcel stolen last year, porch piracy is clearly a big problem for businesses and consumers across the UK. This is leaving retailers and couriers spending time and money replacing stolen deliveries and adding strain to customer services. In households that do their Christmas shopping online, retailers’ brand perception could take a serious knock if people are left without a present to unwrap on Christmas morning.”

Porch theft usually happens by chance after the thieves spot a parcel left on a doorstep when the courier has been unable to leave it with the recipient.