Reps. Panetta, Kim, reintroduce bipartisan bill to crack down on 'porch piracy'

James Herrera, Monterey Daily Herald on Dec 23, 2025

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MONTEREY — A bipartisan piece of legislation that aims to crack down on people who steal packages from others’ homes has been reintroduced by Reps. Jimmy Panetta and Young Kim of California.

The Maximizing Agency Integration on Letter (MAIL) Theft Act addresses the nationwide increase in mail theft or “porch piracy,” by requiring cross-agency coordination on the issue of mail theft and raising it as a priority for federal law enforcement.

While the United States Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service have increased enforcement and arrests, these crimes are spread out across local communities where police are already stretched thin. As of 2024, arrests for robbing letter carriers were up 73%, and between 2019 and 2022, letter carrier robberies increased sixfold, and high-volume mailbox theft increased 87%, according to the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service. Just last month, a housing complex in San Jose was the target of mass mail theft, forcing residents to resort to using P.O. Boxes or retrieving mail promptly.

Porch piracy occurs all across Monterey County and has become more prevalent during the holiday season as people have more packages delivered to their front doors. Individuals often grab those packages from doorsteps or porches and make quick getaways either on foot or in a waiting vehicle.

“Too many delivered packages are being stolen from homes,” said Panetta in a press release. “The MAIL Theft Act will help investigate and solve these types of crimes by ensuring that federal agencies are backing up our local law enforcement with a coordinated federal response. As more and more people rely on mail order delivery, Congress must play its part to ensure that delivered packages are protected.”

Porch pirates cost Americans an estimated $15 billion in the past year, with over 104 million packages stolen nationwide or roughly 250,000 stolen packages every day, according to Safewise.com.

The MAIL Theft Act requires federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, to work with state and local law enforcement to better protect communities from postal theft and develop a coordinated federal approach to mail theft, which is targeting neighborhoods nationwide.

With fewer than a quarter of theft victims reporting incidents to police, and recovery rates being generally low, experts suggest security cameras, neighbor coordination, and delivery planning such as requiring a signature, to reduce theft risk.

“During the holiday season, families should be focused on time together — not stolen checks and missing packages,” said Kim in the release. “Rising mail theft is hurting communities and putting postal workers at risk. The MAIL Theft Act strengthens coordination across all levels of law enforcement so we can stop these crimes, protect workers, and restore peace of mind for families in California.”

Last March, Panetta wrote to Postmaster Louis Dejoy and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chief Inspector Gary Barksdale to request assistance in resolving egregious mail theft taking place in California’s 19th Congressional District. Panetta called on postal leaders to prioritize mail theft deterrence in South San Jose, including the approval of individual curbside mailboxes, new physical security standards for cluster box units, and clarity on a nationwide strategy to address this epidemic.

Panetta is also a cosponsor of the bipartisan Protect Our Letter Carriers Act, which would appoint an assistant U.S. attorney to prosecute postal crime, amend sentencing guidelines related to the assault of a postal employee, and replace old mail collection boxes with high-security models.

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