UK’s plague of ‘porch pirates’ getting worse, with more than £200 million-worth of parcels stolen in the last year

Quadient freedom of Information requests shows plague of ‘porch piracy’ getting worse as parcel theft surges 57% in twelve months, spiking over Black Friday and Christmas.

London, UK,  15th November 2023

The UK’s parcel theft problem is getting worse and ‘porch pirates’ will pose huge problems across Black Friday and Christmas, according to data from technology company Quadient (Euronext Paris: QDT). A series of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to UK police forces show parcel theft has risen 57% in the last year. The average reported value of a stolen parcel is £66.50. Given 11% of UK households reported a parcel theft in the last year, the data uncovers a hidden economy of £206 million in stolen goods.

Consumers and companies are heading into the busiest period for porch piracy. Most reports made to the police about parcel theft are made in December (15% of the annual total) and November (12%). The data also shows parcel theft is most likely to occur between 9am and 5pm, and 22–34-year-olds filed the most reports to the Police. This may be because young professionals are most likely to be returning to the office for at least some of the working week – leaving parcels unattended and ripe for interception by thieves.

“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.”

The FOI also laid bare which regions are most impacted by parcel theft:

• Cambridgeshire Constabulary had the highest total value of reported thefts (£33,700), closely followed by Northumbria (£33,400).
• Dyfed-Powys reported the highest value per theft (£252), a stark contrast to Avon & Somerset (£8).
• Some regions reported particularly steep rises; thefts rose almost twenty times in Bedfordshire, five times in Hertfordshire and almost tripled in Northumbria.
• The number of thefts reported to forces varied greatly; there were just 18 in North Wales, and 788 in Hertfordshire.

“Police shouldn’t be expected to stem the tide of parcel theft on their own, and consumers shouldn’t be forced to strike out alone and protect themselves. Consumers need more secure and convenient options for parcel delivery. Blanket 9-5 deliveries or being forced to pick up items during specific building opening hours doesn’t work for anyone,” added Katia Bourgeais-Crémel at Quadient. “Retailers, delivery companies and local authorities need to step up and work together to create a network of pick-up and drop-off locations people can use 24/7.”

“Parcel lockers form an essential part of this network. Lockers not only cut the risk of parcels being stolen, but also give consumers an easy way to collect parcels and a safe way to manage their returns, for instance when passing a locker during their commute. Lockers also protect retailers and delivery companies from the costs of refunding customers for stolen items or sending replacements, and reduce the need for redeliveries, which in turn keeps unnecessary traffic away from local roads. Introducing lockers gives local governments a way to provide better amenities to citizens, reduce crime in the local area and cut the number of delivery vehicles on roads. Finally, police forces will see a reduction in parcel theft, allowing them to direct resources elsewhere.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Data in this press release is based on Freedom of Information requests to the UK’s 45 territorial police forces. This data is based on the responses from 20 forces, representing a population of 23,338,600 people.

To calculate UK-wide figures, Quadient calculated the total number of thefts per person across this population, then extrapolated across the UK population (67,330,000).

8 forces shared data on the value of stolen parcels. To calculate a cost-per-parcel, Quadient divided the total number of thefts across these forces with the total reported value, for an average of £66.50.

Reported thefts year-on-year:

Time period	Reported thefts (responding forces)	Estimated UK-wide figure
01/08/2022 – 31/07/2023	5,692	16,421
01/08/2021 – 31/07/2022	3,540	10,485
01/08/2020 – 31/07 2021	2,373	7,028
01/08/2019 – 31/07/2020	1,059	3,137
01/08/2018 – 31/07/2019	914	2,707

Reported thefts for 2022-2023:

Time period	Reported thefts (responding forces)	Estimated UK-wide figure
July 2023	331	955
June 2023	301	868
May 2023	312	900
April 2023	319	920
March 2023	402	1,160
February 2023	338	975
January 2023	451	1,301
December 2022	829	2,392
November 2022	682	1,968
October 2022	521	1,503
September 2022	503	1,451
August 2022	419	1,209

About Quadient^®

Quadient is the driving force behind the world’s most meaningful customer experiences. By focusing on three key solution areas, Intelligent Communication Automation, Parcel Locker Solutions and Mail-Related Solutions, Quadient helps simplify the connection between people and what matters. Quadient supports hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide in their quest to create relevant, personalised connections and achieve customer experience excellence. Quadient is listed in compartment B of Euronext Paris (QDT) and is part of the CAC® Mid & Small and EnterNext® Tech 40 indices.

For more information about Quadient, visit www.quadient.com.

Quadient UK press contact:

Dominic Walsh, Spark Communications +44 (0)20 7436 0420 or quadient@sparkcomms.co.uk

 

Submit your details below to download the full report: ‘Delivery to Disappearance’