Police say TikTok clips of thieves stealing packages could “violate their private lives”
UNSPLASH: DAN DENNISPolice responding to the recent trend of “porch pirates” have advised people that posting images of alleged thieves on social media could be a violation of privacy rights.
“Porch Pirates” have become more common recently after a wave of thefts in 2023 that saw many criminals blatantly steal delivery packages from the fronts of people’s homes.
Since then, police have been offering more guidance on how to avoid these thieves. However, the comments of one police department in Canada went viral when a local police officer warned victims not to post images of alleged thieves on social media, particularly TikTok.
The comments were met with mixed reactions, with some responses online saying it wasn’t fair to treat thieves in that manner.
Police slammed online over TikTok privacy comments
According to CTV News, Officer Lt. Benoit Richard advised Canadians living in Quebec that “You cannot post the images yourself because you have to remember, in Canada, we have a presumption of innocence and posting that picture could be a violation of private life.”
While the comments were clearly meant in good faith, that didn’t stop several social media users from criticizing the defense of alleged thieves.
“Don’t forget to also invite them in for some tea,” one reply sarcastically read. “You don’t want to have a violation towards their wellbeing. It’s cold out there.”
Thieves operating like this have been on the rise since the trend of capturing them via security cameras went viral in 2023. Just a few days ago, a particularly brazen thief sat on someone else’s porch while opening their packages.
For more news and updates on porch package thieves, check out the time top streamer Amouranth confronted one of her thieves.
