Homeowner stunned after package, mail, lamp stolen in 'extremely rude' porch theft

A homeowner in the Dufferin Grove area was stunned after a thief made offwith a package, a bundle of mail and a lamp from inside her enclosed front porch.

The incident happened on Monday shortly after a package was delivered to Andrea Wilson's home.

"Taking the package was annoying, and the mail bothered me, but the lamp part was more of a, 'How dare you,'" said Wilson.

"I just describe it as extremely rude," she added. "That's my filtered version."

You can watchvideo of the incident below:

Suspect steals items from enclosed front porch

5 years ago

Duration 0:31

Police are looking for a woman captured stealing items from inside a front porch in Dufferin Grove.

Wilson became suspicious after an online tracking system showed the package was delivered to her home on Monday.

She looked around but couldn't find it, so she called up the recording of her surveillance camera hoping to findan answer.

She could hardly believe the video when it played back on her screen.

"You're a bit shocked because you don't expect someone to just walk in so brazenly," Wilson told CBC Toronto. "When I first saw it, I'm like, 'Should I be recognizing this person?' Because she seems quite comfortable doing this."

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Wilson said the package, which had a value of less than $100, was less concerning than the theft of her mail, which could have contained sensitive personal information.

The lamp was of "no particular value," she added, though she's incredulous that someone dared to steal it at all.

"It was not so much the value of the items, just the idea that someone is just scoping through your things deciding to see what they wanted to keep," she said.

'Nothing out of the norm,' police say

Wilson has reported the theft and provided the video to Toronto police, who say they'llinvestigate.

Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said reports of so-called "porch pirates" typically peak during busy shopping seasons like Christmas.

She said there's no indication that a trend is emerging in the Dufferin Grove area or anywhere else in Toronto.

"As of late, there's nothing out of the norm,' Douglas-Cook said.

To prevent similar thefts, police recommend that people have packages delivered to an alternate address, a designated pick up location, or at least to an area concealed from passersby.

That appeared to have been the case with Wilson's enclosed front porch.

"This one was a little bit more brazen," Douglas-Cook admitted.

She added that in 2018, police arrested at least two people in connection withsimilar incidents.

Wilson said she will now replace the screen door with a locking door, and perhaps changeher shopping habits.

"To be honest, I think I may shy away from online shopping a little bit," she said.