Yes, the term and the phenomenon were originally American but are now current over here too, and escalating fast. Some reports suggest that doorstep  parcel theft has jumped 500% in the past four years. In the year to August 2023, there were apparently 16,421 reports of parcel theft in the UK, up from 2,700 for the same period four years ago. And that’s only the ones that are reported. The UK is well ahead of other European countries for online shopping, which of course increases the opportunity for opportunistic looting.

In America, doorstep delivery delinquency has also been growing; it probably started there anyway. One survey estimates that 210 million packages were stolen across America in 2021. Eight states in the USA have recently passed laws increasing the penalties for package theft from a misdemeanour to a felony.

These figures are lifted from an article in this weekend’s Financial Times. It goes on to claim that UK courier companies and retailers are making a great effort to ensure packages end up in the right hands. Personally we are not yet sure this is as true as we might wish. We’ve all been aware that some couriers just drop on the doorstep and run without trying to ensure that there is anyone at home to receive the parcel. Some delivery firms, including Royal Mail, do offer a “safe place” delivery option but this isn’t always observed.

The article also notes that, just as shoplifting as a whole has substantially risen, the cost of living crisis has also increased the market for stolen goods from people’s doorsteps – as we’ve observed locally. Though one could add that the police here are convinced that much of the shoplifting and theft has to do with the increasing level of drug trafficking rather than food poverty.

Not surprisingly Harry Wallop, the writer of this article and a freelance writer on consumer affairs, does not come up with any stunning solution. But he notes that there is an increasing trend – a hybrid solution as he calls it – to order goods online and then go for the “click and collect” pickup option. Well, yes, I think many of us have learned this the hard way. This is in some ways inconvenient but usually guarantees safer delivery.

Here in Herne Hill, many (but not all) Amazon deliveries can be diverted either to the post office on Norwood Road or to a rather un-prepossessing but efficient convenience store, Omsakthi Food & Wine, at 16 Milkwood Road. The routine differs from place to place. In the post office when you have shown your barcode, it’s the job of the poor overworked employee behind her/his glass screen to rummage around in the hundreds of parcels to find yours. In the convenience store, on the other hand, once you’re signed in with your barcode, it’s your job to plunge into the large boxes in the shop to find your parcel which you then present to the shopkeeper who scans it and then allows you to take it away: the boxes themselves are unsecured so an ingenious thief could theoretically snatch one up and  smuggle it out of the shop.

Many of us will be tempted to use these options more frequently. Of the two, the convenience store has some advantages since the post office – particularly at this time of the year – often requires a lengthy queue before getting to the counter. Other carriers, e.g. UPS, can divert to other pickup spots, for example Marie Russell, the newsagents on Half Moon Lane.

‘It’s robbing our children of their freedom and their youth,” said one local mother.

This week (Monday, November 6) marked the start of the daily action that is designed to increase adult presence on the roads after school.

Father-of-two, Dr Matthew Allen, from Dulwich, said he had become increasingly aware of muggings taking place when children are on their way home.

“A boy tried to mug my son on the way home from school one day,” he told us, “luckily he was able to get away by running into the road. But it definitely had an effect on him.”

Fellow parent, Vanessa Perrin, shared a similar experience: “I moved here two years ago – in that time I have been present for a mugging and then my son was mugged.

Determined to do something about it, they said they set up WhatsApp groups in the community, which they claim were going off ‘almost daily’ with reports of a mugging or attempted mugging.

“We wanted to act,” Vanessa explained, “But we didn’t have the tools or the police support.”

That’s when they reached out to Emma Rigby, who has been running a similar scheme in Enfield for the last four years and claims robberies have reduced by nearly half.

Emma said: “After one particularly bad week when nineteen boys were mugged in the same month, we decided to start these patrols to increase the eyes and ears on the streets.

“Within a year of launching the patrols robberies fell by 48 per cent.

“These parents in Dulwich reached out to me and I decided to do a pilot scheme here until Christmas to see if it makes a difference in the area.”

The idea is that parents and community members patrol the areas that are known as ‘mugging hotspots’ from the hours of 3:30pm and 5pm when most children are out. “We just speak to people and if we see anyone get approached we’re on alert and we make ourselves known to them.

“Most of the time it works just to go over and say hello and be visible. If anything ever gets out of hand we just contact the police.”

On their first patrol, Emma demonstrated this – introducing herself and a parent as the new community patrol to everyone who passed by. She stopped one schoolboy and asked if he’d ever been mugged, to which he casually replied: “No, but all of my friends have.”

The group is partnered with the Met Police and will choose which areas to monitor based on where they deem as ‘hotspots’ for crime. Emma hopes to take the scheme London-wide in the near future.

Dr Allen added, “I hope by doing these patrols we’re going to raise awareness and hopefully reduce the number of muggings that happen on the street, like they have in Enfield.”

As well as keeping the young people safe, he said it’s good for fostering community spirit as well, commenting: “You get to meet people and it’s good for your well-being.”

Vanessa said: “We’re here to be positive rather than vigilantes.”

For the first patrol, six willing parents were present but Emma is hopeful and will continue to spread the word. “Forty-five people have already signed up – you don’t have to be a parent to volunteer.”

They said that whilst doing a patrol every day after school is not realistic for working parents, they hope that if enough people sign up they will only have to go out once a month.

As it’s community-led, residents in other areas can get in touch to find out how to bring this to where they live. They are also hoping that schools and other local organisations get involved too.

Anyone wanting to find out more about the scheme and how to volunteer, go to this site. 

Article by Isabel Ramirez on Southwark News, filed by Isabel Ramirez ,7th November 2023

Short video available on You Tube via this page of Southwark News.  Filed actually on Half Moon Lane by the Judith Kerr School