FOI 440784

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 440784

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 4th November 2025.  Please find below the response to your request 

I would like to submit an FOI request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding reports of parcel theft from doorsteps/porches, also known as porch piracy.

Please would you provide the following information for the period of January 2023 – to date:

• The total number of reports of stolen parcels or packages from residential addresses.
• The total estimated value of items reported stolen in each incident.
• The total estimated value of items reported stolen in each year.
• The total number of cases of parcel theft where the offender(s) were prosecuted.

If possible, can the above data be organised by year, month and region?

Reply

Your request for information has been considered in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), and I am not obliged to provide the information requested.

S.12(1) of the Act states that a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”.  For police forces in England and Wales, the "appropriate limit" is £450 or 18 hours of work as set by the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

The information you have requested is not available in a readily retrievable format. There is not a specific recordable offence for parcel theft. A search has been carried out using 42 - Theft of Mail and 49 - Other Theft and keywords parcel, package; AND, door, step, porch, lobby, hallway, hall way, communal. There are over 579 records.  In order to ascertain whether the information you have requested is held would take in excess of 18 hours as each record would have to be checked individually.

In accordance with s.17(5) of the Act, this acts as a Refusal Notice.

However, In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request and can provide some information as this was retrieved during our initial research. This should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fees legislation for any subsequent requests This is also not accurate to your request but may aid in you being able to refine your request should you wish. West Mercia does not hold data for Q2 and 3.