The Fulton County Marshal’s Department is urging residents to minimize opportunities for “porch pirates” this holiday season after apprehending a woman allegedly caught on camera stealing packages from the mail room of a North Atlanta apartment complex.

“Your vigilance can make a difference,” the department said Tuesday in a social media post. “Together, we can keep our communities safe.”

Residents should consider using secure delivery boxes, having packages held at the post office, or arranging for a trusted person to promptly retrieve deliveries to help prevent theft, the department said.

The name of the apprehended individual was not released. A spokesperson for the department said the 30-year-old woman was charged with theft. Three packages were taken, containing five items, the spokesperson said, adding that one of the items was recovered.

Deputies from the Fulton County Marshal's Department apprehended a 30-year-old woman suspected of porch piracy after packages were stolen from the mail room of a North Atlanta apartment complex, the department said in a social media post Tuesday. The agency blocked the woman's face in the photo it posted online and did not release her name. (Facebook/Fulton County Marshal's Department)

Credit: Fulton County Marshal's Department

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Credit: Fulton County Marshal's Department

In Georgia, porch piracy is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

State law defines porch piracy as the taking without permission of at least three envelopes, bags, packages or other related articles belonging to another “from the porch, steps, or immediate vicinity of any entrance or exit of a dwelling of three or more different mailboxes or addresses.”

A recent report by security.org based on a survey of more than 11,000 Americans estimates that $12 billion worth of packages were stolen in the past year from as many as 58 million people. Apartment dwellers experience package theft at double the rate of those who live in single-family homes, according to the report.

In Georgia, the median value of recently stolen packages was $100, security.org said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says its inspectors arrest thousands of mail and package thieves each year. The federal agency’s tips on preventing mail and package theft include promptly retrieving posted items, contacting senders about overdue items, and using the U.S. Postal Service’s hold mail service.