In an effort to take wind out of the sails of so-called “porch pirates” — people who swipe packages from doorsteps — one local cafe is offering itself as a delivery center for neighbors.
From now until Christmas Eve, Latte Da Coffee House and Wine Bar, in the Lincoln neighborhood, will hold onto packages for online shoppers concerned the boxes might not make it into their hands.
Owner Scott Flury, 54, said he was spurred to act after hearing many neighbors say their packages were intercepted.
“It happens all the time,” he said.
Online shoppers can list the cafe’s address — 205 E. 39th St., Vancouver, WA 98663 — for delivery and, with photo identification, retrieve a package from the cafe when it arrives. The packages will be stored in the cafe’s basement. There is no charge; Flury, who opened the cafe five years ago, said he just wanted to help.
“We don’t want to see people’s Christmas get ruined. We just want them to focus on what’s important,” he said, adding that it’s in the spirit of the holidays: “When blessed, be a blessing.”
This is the second year the cafe has offered itself to its shopping neighbors. Flury estimates they stored 15 to 20 packages last year. Only one person didn’t pick up a package on time because the purchaser went out of town for the holidays.
The service will be available during store hours. Latte Da Coffee House and Wine Bar is open 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Fridays; 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
Ease of access
The service is just one more effort to combat package theft that has risen alongside booming online sales and deliveries.
UPS alone expects to deliver a record-high 700 million packages to homes and businesses between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, the company said last month, a 17 percent jump from last year.
The trend has created a cottage industry of delivery protection, like high-tech footlockers for porches that come with alarm systems and software to notify someone when a package has arrived.
The U.S. Postal Service and UPS both allow greater tracking services these days, as well. Both offer mobile apps that can pinpoint a delivery on its route from the distribution center to the doorstep.
Kim Kapp, spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department, said porch piracy hasn’t been a “big issue” lately, but she urged caution for online shoppers.
“We are hopeful that with things like Amazon Lockers and mailbox stores, combined (with) our crime prevention messages that we pound each year, that people are finding alternative locations to have packages shipped rather than to their homes,” Kapp said.
Any added vigilance is good, said Lincoln Neighborhood Association chairperson Jenny Brown. Brown reported an increasing amount of neighbors are falling victim to these thefts.
“I’m not sure if they all get reported to the police department, but I’ve seen a spike in what’s reported to me,” she said. “I have noticed a spike in the amount of emails and texts I get.”
Brown, who commends the service by Flury and Latte Da, speculated these thefts are under-reported because victims blame themselves or feel futile; but if police are to do anything, they need to know about the crimes, she said.
“Call it in. It’s a crime. I think people don’t want to be a nuisance,” she said. “We’ve had people get wreaths stolen off their doors. We get car break-ins and a lot of people don’t call it in because they left their car unlocked. Well, people make mistakes — call it in.”
