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Wales sees largest increase in parcel thefts across UK, Australia, Canada and USA

17 Oct 2022 2 minute read
Amazon delivery box.

Wales has seen the largest increase in parcel thefts across the UK, Australia, Canada and the USA over the last year, a new survey has shown.

The Penn Elcom Global Parcel Theft Report which used data sourced by YouGov found that the UK had seen a 5% rise in the previous 12 months, costing UK customers £320 million in missing goods.

Within the UK, Wales had seen the largest rise in parcel thefts with a 12% rise in the same time period.

YouGov surveyed samples of 2,000 random consumers in the UK, US, the UAE, Canada and Australia in May of this year.

32% of people across the nations of the UK had a package lost or stolen in their lifetime, which amounts to 21.5 million parcels, they said.

They estimated that globally over 1.009 billion packages had been snaffled, at a total cost of £33.6 billion.

‘Securely’

Penn Elcom’s chairman, Roger Willems, said: “A surge in online shopping accelerated by Covid, along with seasonal rushes, means couriers are under intense pressure to deliver parcels quickly.

“Professional thieves are known to follow delivery vans, stealing packages minutes after they are dropped off, while opportunistic thieves take advantage of parcels left on doorsteps.

“The rate of increase in parcel theft and loss in the UK is a wake-up call for consumers, retailers and couriers.

“We’re a small island with a lot of people, meaning densely populated areas with front doorsteps that are often easily accessible from the road, making it rich pickings for opportunistic porch pirates as well as more organised criminals who have been reported to follow delivery vans.

“What’s more, this is a low-risk crime: there’s much less chance of getting caught lifting a package off a doorstep than shoplifting with CCTV and security guards.

“Online shopping is here to stay, so we need to rethink how we receive deliveries.

“We’re still building houses with letterboxes, even though they’re all but obsolete – they’re not fit for today’s need to receive parcels securely.”


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