LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — Governor Josh Shapiro signed a new law aimed at stiffening the penalties for those who repeatedly steal mail and packages from others.
The penalty for the crime takes into account what the package or mail was worth and now includes how many times the alleged thief has been caught and convicted.
"I think it's great. Something needs to be done. It's just too prevalent, and I'm glad to see that Pennsylvania is taking some action," said Karen Thomas, Eynon.
"I've never had a problem with it, but I know some neighbors have. I think it will help stop it or maybe slow it down," said Thaddeus Strugala, Jessup.
Blakely Police Chief Guy Salerno says his department deals with porch pirate crimes, especially over the past few years, as online shopping has increased.
"Last year, we had a couple. We had at least one this Christmas season. It does obviously pick up this time of year because of how many packages are being delivered," said Chief Guy Salerno, Blakely Police Department.
Patty O'Malley says she is one of those frequent online shoppers, "People work hard for their money around here. It's a blue-collar area; people work very hard, and then for someone to take all your merchandise is hard."
Chief Salerno recommends homeowners take a proactive approach and have some sort of security measure to hopefully make those porch pirates think twice.
"Some kind of camera system that they can monitor when their package is there so they know. If they have a speaker and they can yell. They could contact a neighbor and say hey could you grab my packages for me. That would be the best protection, I would say," said Chief Salerno.
Another way to avoid thieves? Consider doing your shopping in person.