When a Bluemont resident woke up one morning earlier this month, there was a backpack and a pair of shoes.

The items were aired on a porch on 6th Street N., after being sprayed with bug spray, and were nowhere to be found when it broke up, the victim told ARLnow. Surveillance footage captured a suspect approaching and walking off with the items after midnight.

“At least there was nothing valuable inside the backpack,” said the items’ rightful owner. “He struggles to lift it off porch because it is filled with sand that I use for strength training.”

The Arlington County Police Department is investigating the incident, said spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

Arlington theft cases increased from 184 incidents in the first quarter of 2024 to 274 incidents in the third quarter, according to ACPD’s crime data hub.

To avoid porch piracy this holiday season, Savage encouraged residents to take advantage of theft prevention services offered by delivery companies.

For example, customers using FedEx can request to hold a package at a FedEx facility or require a signature to collect — tools that have “proven very useful in combating front-porch piracy,” a company spokesperson said.

“Our solutions such as FedEx Delivery ManagerThe Estimated Delivery Time window and FedEx mobile app offer recipients a convenient experience with more control over the time and location of their deliveries, said a FedEx spokesperson.

UPS also offers a variety of options to mitigate risk, according to a spokesperson, including:

• Customers can sign up for a free service called UPS My choicewhich sends an email letting them know when their package is scheduled to be delivered.
• If customers are at work during the day, they can use UPS My Choice to have packages delivered to where they work or to a UPS Access Point® location. They can also choose to have their deliveries sent to a relative or neighbor who is home during the day.
• Customers can tell our driver where they want packages left with UPS My Choice. For example, in the shed in the backyard, or behind the garage. UPS drivers can also enter that information into their PDAs for future deliveries.

Savage noted that “thefts are often crimes of opportunity, with thieves stealing unattended items or items in plain sight.”

“Report thefts to the police for investigation by filing a online police report or call the Alternative Reporting Unit (ARU) at 703-228-4300,” she advised.