Over $15 billion worth of packages disappeared from American doorsteps in 2024, according to a Pinkerton study released this fall. That number, staggering on its own, gets worse when you zoom in on the holiday months. Roughly 11% of Americans reported having at least one package stolen during last year’s holiday season, and early indicators suggest this December will be no different.
Memphis has never been immune to the trend. Property crime across the city dropped about 20% compared to 2023 numbers, per data shared by the Shelby County Crime Commission. That’s real progress. But package theft occupies an odd space in crime statistics. Most victims don’t file police reports. They call Amazon, get a refund, and move on. The crime barely registers in official numbers even as it keeps happening on every block from Frayser to Collierville.
The Numbers Behind the Doorstep Problem
A 2024 study by Security.org found that nearly two in three Americans know somebody who’s had a package stolen. The average value of a swiped delivery hit $228 this year, up from $219 in 2023. That nine-dollar jump matters when you multiply it across millions of thefts nationwide.
Tennessee ranked in the upper third of states for porch piracy rates. No one tracks the data at a city level with any precision, which means Memphis residents are left guessing about how bad things really are on their own streets.
What we do know: the holiday delivery window between Thanksgiving and Christmas creates the perfect storm. UPS, FedEx, and Amazon vans run constant routes through residential neighborhoods. Packages sit on porches for hours. Opportunistic thieves follow delivery trucks or cruise neighborhoods scanning for unattended boxes.
Where It Hits Hardest in Memphis
Talk to residents in Cordova and you’ll hear about packages vanishing from apartment complexes along Germantown Parkway. The big multi-unit developments there get dozens of deliveries per day, and packages pile up near front doors or in unsecured lobbies. One Cordova apartment manager told me they’d started photographing every delivery themselves just to have proof when residents filed complaints.
East Memphis sees a different pattern. Homes set back from the street with long driveways create a false sense of security. Thieves know that a package sitting 50 feet from the road isn’t visible to passing cars, and neither is the person grabbing it.
Germantown and Bartlett have lower property crime rates than Memphis proper, but they’re not exempt. Both suburbs sit along major corridors that make quick getaways simple. Bartlett residents near Stage Road have reported spikes during November and December for three years running now.
Whitehaven and Parkway Village, neighborhoods already dealing with higher burglary rates, get hit the hardest per capita. Residents there often can’t afford the $200 doorbell cameras that wealthier neighborhoods treat as standard equipment.
What Actually Works (And What Doesn’t)
The security industry loves selling fear during the holidays. I’ll skip the sales pitch and talk about what’s actually preventing theft for Memphis residents right now.
Amazon Lockers and Hub Counters. There are more than a dozen Amazon Locker locations scattered across Memphis. The Whole Foods on Poplar has them. So does the 7-Eleven on Union Avenue and several Kohl’s locations. For anyone ordering through Amazon, redirecting packages to a locker costs nothing and eliminates porch exposure entirely. Amazon Hub Counter service at Rite Aid and GNC stores works the same way.
The catch? Not every package fits in a locker. Anything oversized still goes to your door. And if you’re ordering from retailers other than Amazon, lockers aren’t an option.
Doorbell Cameras. Ring, Google Nest, and a dozen cheaper alternatives have turned millions of front doors into surveillance zones. The cameras work as deterrents. A thief who spots a camera lens often moves to the next house. They also create evidence. Memphis Police have used doorbell footage to identify and arrest porch pirates, though the department won’t say how often that leads to actual prosecution.
A basic Ring camera runs about $50. The video storage subscription adds another $40 per year. For East Memphis or Germantown homeowners, that’s pocket change. For a family in Whitehaven stretching a tight budget, it’s a real expense.
Delivery Instructions and Timing. Every major carrier lets you add delivery notes. “Leave behind the storm door.” “Place on back porch.” “Hold at facility for pickup.” These instructions don’t cost a penny. Most people never bother changing the defaults.
FedEx offers Hold at Location for free. UPS has My Choice, where you can reroute packages to a UPS Store or Access Point. The USPS will hold packages at your local post office if you request it online. None of these options are new. They’re just underused.
Package Lockboxes. A steel lockbox bolted to your porch gives delivery drivers a secure drop point. Brands like Yale, Danby, and BenchSentry sell them for $100 to $400. They’re common in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest. I’ve seen maybe three in all of Memphis.
The adoption problem is partly cultural. Memphians aren’t used to porch infrastructure beyond a doormat. But for anyone receiving frequent deliveries, a lockbox pays for itself after a single prevented theft.
The Security Patrol Question
Some Cordova and East Memphis neighborhoods have hired private security patrols during the holiday season. The guards drive marked vehicles through subdivisions on randomized routes, creating visible deterrence. Neighborhood associations typically split the cost among participating households.
Does it work? Sort of. A security car rolling through every 30 to 45 minutes won’t catch a thief who grabs a package in 10 seconds flat. What patrols do is make the neighborhood look monitored. Thieves who are casing multiple streets will skip the one with the security decals on the street signs.
The cost ranges from $15 to $50 per household per month depending on the neighborhood’s size and how many hours of patrol they’re buying. Some HOAs in Germantown include seasonal patrol contracts in their annual dues.
Why Reporting Still Matters
Here’s the cycle that keeps package theft invisible: victim gets refund from retailer, never calls police, crime doesn’t show up in statistics, city doesn’t allocate resources. The Memphis Police Department tracks larceny, which technically includes porch theft, but officers will tell you off the record that they rarely investigate individual package thefts unless there’s clear camera footage and a pattern.
Filing a report takes 10 minutes through the MPD’s online reporting system. It won’t get your package back. What it does is add data to precinct-level crime maps. When enough reports cluster in one area, the department can assign patrol resources. Without reports, the problem stays statistically invisible.
A Few Things to Do This Week
The holiday delivery rush peaks between December 15 and December 22. If you haven’t taken steps yet, here’s a short list that costs almost nothing:
Update your delivery preferences on Amazon, FedEx, and UPS accounts. Pick a secure drop location or redirect to a locker. Ask a neighbor to grab your packages if you’re at work — and offer to do the same. Bring packages inside within an hour of delivery. If that’s not possible, schedule deliveries for evenings or weekends when you’re home.
These aren’t exciting solutions. They don’t require a security system or a monthly subscription. They just require paying attention during the three weeks of the year when your doorstep is most exposed.
Memphis property crime is trending in the right direction. A 20% drop in major property offenses means something real. But that progress won’t extend to package theft until residents start treating it like the crime it actually is — and taking the small, free steps that make their porches less attractive targets.