The Delivery Theft Index

With the ever-growing rise in online shopping and internet consumerism, more deliveries are being shipped out to homes every day. Due to busy schedules and work commitments, people are not always home to receive these parcels. Often, they are left outside doors, inside porches, or behind bins. This insecure way of storing parcels then leads to delivery theft: a form of theft where people take delivered parcels from outside of the home.

To figure out which states in the USA and Australia and which cities in the UK have the worst problem with stolen parcels, home insurance comparison service iSelect have created The Delivery Theft Index. This index is an accumulation of different information pooled together to give each state and city a score out of 100. The higher the score, the worse the state or city is for delivery theft.

The higher-ranking states and cities in our index are led by high levels of online sales (like District of Columbia, USA) and high rates of other kinds of theft in the area (like Western Australia). These porch piracy statistics should help inform you about the different factors that go into these varying delivery theft levels.

From our Delivery Theft Index, we will be able to see how high levels of online sales, low levels of working from home, and high reports of other theft in the area all affect the rate of stolen parcels.

The worst areas for parcel theft 

So, which areas in the USA, Australia, and the UK are the worst for parcel theft? From our data, we will show the top 10 worst areas and their index score. Then we will give some more details on the number 1 area for each country. See our curated list below.

USA

1. District of Columbia – 72.10
2. Colorado – 58.25
3. Oregon – 54.39
4. Montana – 53.09
5. Louisiana – 52.32
6. Arkansas – 52.04
7. Illinois – 50.37
8. North Dakota – 49.28
9. North Carolina – 49.13
10. Utah – 49.12

The highest US area in our index is the District of Columbia, with a total index score of 72.10. This result is mainly due to this area’s high rate of online sales ($5,805.00 USD) and a high level of parcel theft searches (149.50 per 100k). We can see here how the number of online sales can clearly impact parcel theft statistics, and it also highlights how aware and fearful people in this area are of porch piracy.

Australia

We will now show the highest regions in Australia for parcel theft. It’s important to note that there were only 8 states in our index, so these are the state rankings from highest to lowest and not a top 10.

1. Western Australia – 64.70
2. Queensland – 62.26
3. South Australia – 59.54
4. Australian Capital Territory – 57.50
5. Northern Territory – 50.00
6. Victoria – 47.51
7. Tasmania – 46.86
8. New South Wales – 26.51

Western Australia has the third-highest level of online sales in the country ($3,069.00 AUD) and the second-lowest percentage of people working from home (7.50%), which leads to this state ranking first in our Australian index with a total score of 64.70. It’s also interesting to note that this state has one of the highest levels of other kinds of theft in the area (2,763.20 per 100k), only beaten by the Northern Territory (at 3,098.80 per 100k).

UK

The ranking in the UK is not sorted by county, but by city. These parcel theft statistics also focus more on the other rates of theft in the area and the percentage of people working from home, rather than online sales. See the list below for the 10 highest ranking cities of the UK and their index score.

1. Manchester – 91.43
2. Newcastle upon Tyne – 75.89
3. Bristol – 75.53
4. Leeds – 53.51
5. Kingston upon Hull – 48.48
6. Plymouth – 46.10
7. London – 45.27
8. Bradford – 43.46
9. Birmingham – 42.71
10. Nottingham – 41.94

Manchester ranks highest in the UK index due to having the highest rate of other theft in the area (13.52 per 1k) and the second-highest amount of parcel theft searches (161.60 per 100k). This has put it as the highest-ranking city in the UK, with a total index score of 91.43.

Why is parcel theft higher in these areas?

When we look at the highest-ranking states in our index, it’s apparent that the level of online sales directly impacts the amount of delivery theft. Colorado is a great example. This state ranks second overall in the USA portion of our index and spends a total of $4,824.00 (USD) on online sales. This has likely directly impacted the amount of parcel theft and given it a total index score of 58.25. With more online sales, more parcels are likely to be left on porches and beside doors. This gives thieves greater opportunities to steal unattended packages.

Another statistic that contributes to higher levels of delivery theft is other rates of theft in the area. Bristol in the UK, for example, has the second-highest rate of other theft (12.33 per 1k), and this has contributed towards parcel theft and this city’s high ranking.

Working from home has become a widely accepted practice after the pandemic. But how does this impact parcel theft? From our index, we can see that states and cities with lower percentages of citizens working from home tend to have higher rates of delivery theft. In South Australia, only 9.60% of people work from home. This Australian state also ranks as the third highest in our index with a total score of 59.54. The reason this statistic impacts the level of parcel theft is that if people are working from home, they are more likely to respond to a home delivery.

The rate of parcel theft searches is also an important factor in our index. This not only shows the level of concern people may feel about their parcels being stolen, but also the possible intent. People may be searching the level of parcel theft so they can understand which states and cities are better targets. If there are already so many thefts happening, thieves may feel more inclined to try it out in those areas. Newcastle upon Tyne, for example, has the highest rate of parcel thefts searches in the UK (174.50 per 100k). This city is also the second highest-ranking area in the UK portion of our index. This shows how the level of searches can directly impact the rate of parcel theft.

The safest areas for deliveries

Now we have looked at the highest-ranking states and cities, it’s time to see which areas are the safest for unattended parcels. We will highlight in the section below which areas of the USA, Australia and the UK ranked the lowest in our index, and what factors contributed to their low score.

The lowest ranking city in the UK is Derby, with a total index score of 17.68. The factors that have contributed to this low score are Derby’s low rate of other theft (4.83 per 1k) and the city’s high rate of people who work from home (28.90%). Because of this high percentage of people who work from home, deliveries will more likely be received at the door and not left unattended. The low rate of other theft also implies this is not as abundant in this city compared to others.

The safest area for deliveries in Australia from our index is New South Wales. Despite this state having a very high level of online sales ($3,113.00 AUD), it ranks lowest in our index due to its high percentage of people working from home (31.00%) and its low rate of other theft in the area (1,397.90 per 100k), giving it a total index score of 26.51.

Idaho ranks the lowest in our USA portion of the index, with a total score of 18.79. We can see from our data that this state has an average level of online sales ($4,000.00 USD) and an average percentage of people working from home (15.10%), but it is the rate of other theft that makes this state rank the lowest. As far as other theft in the area, Idaho has a rate of 171.30 per 100k, which is one of the lowest rates in the American states. Due to this, it is considered the safest state in America when it comes to parcel theft.

Key trends and insights

As a whole, more people work from home in the UK than they do in Australia and America. This could potentially lead to less parcel theft in UK cities, as more homeowners will be able to receive their deliveries straight away.

When it comes to other thefts in the area, Australia tends to be on the higher end. If we take Queensland as an example, we can see that this state has a rate of 2,729.70 thefts per 100k. If you compare this to the American state of Montana, which has 518.50 thefts per 100k, we can deduce that thefts of any kind are more likely to happen in Australia than they are in the US.

The USA has the largest number of online purchases, which will then lead to more parcels being delivered to the home and possibly being left out in plain sight. The state of Utah spends $4,977.00 (USD) on online sales, which is much larger than the state of Victoria ($2,866.00 AUD).

It’s also interesting to note that the cities and states with higher levels of parcel theft searches tend to be the top-ranking in our index. For example, Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK has 174.5 parcel theft searches per 100k. This city is also the second highest ranking in the UK portion of our index. Not only are people more willing to search for stolen parcels, but there is also a heightened fear of deliveries being stolen.

This may also come down to the fact that urban cities have higher rates of parcel theft searches than the wider, regional areas of the USA and Australia. This difference in intent and concern may lead to more parcel thefts as a whole.

How to protect your deliveries

There are a few measures you can take to aid in keeping your parcels safe. We have detailed a few below that could possibly help you with how to prevent package theft. Take a look:

• Delivery lockers – With these useful drop-off points, your parcels will be securely locked inside and will sit there until you’re ready to pick them up. This prevents your packages sitting unattended on doorsteps or on your porch.
• Security cameras – Implementing cameras on your front door will let you see where and when your package has been dropped off. And if someone should try to steal it, you have visual proof of what they looked like or what they were wearing.
• Neighbour drop-offs – Allocating your neighbour as a safe drop-off point will put another measure in place to keep your parcel out of plain sight. If you are not home to collect your delivery, a neighbour may be able to take it in instead. Then, when you are back home, you can go over and ask for your parcel.