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Experts on Camera

Dr. Ben Stickle: Package theft

SciLine interviews experts and then makes the video and other resources rapidly available for TV newsrooms to use on air.

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Ordering holiday gifts online can be convenient—unless your purchase becomes one of the estimated 250,000 packages that are stolen every day in the United States. On December 9, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. Ben Stickle a professor of criminal justice at Middle Tennessee State University, where he studies package theft, and is also a former police officer.

Declared interests: Dr. Stickle advises, and receives research funding from SafeWise.

TV bundle includes:

  • Soundbite (SOT)
  • VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
  • Raw, full-length interview video & log with timecodes (upon request via form below)

These resources are free to use. No attribution to SciLine is required.

Soundbite (SOT) and pronouncer

Downloadable video of the soundbite

High definition (mp4, 1280x720)

Download

Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)

ANCHOR
GOING ONLINE TO ORDER YOUR HOLIDAY GIFTS… OR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE… SURE IS CONVENIENT… UNLESS YOUR ITEM BECOMES ONE OF THE QUARTER-MILLION PACKAGES… THAT ARE STOLEN EVERY DAY… IN THE UNITED STATES. 

VO
DOCTOR BEN STICKLE… IS A PROFESSOR AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY… AND A FORMER POLICE OFFICER.
HE SAYS PACKAGE THEFT IS A THIRTY-SEVEN BILLION DOLLAR PROBLEM… THAT HAS EXPLODED SINCE COVID… ALTHOUGH THIS YEAR IT IS DOWN… ABOUT THIRTEEN-PERCENT.
DOCTOR STICKLE HAS STUDIED HOURS OF DOORBELL CAMERA FOOTAGE OF PORCH PIRATES IN ACTION… AND HAS SOME ADVICE ON PROTECTING YOUR ITEMS. 

SOT
Duration: 0:29
Super: Dr. Ben Stickle – professor of criminal justice administration at Middle Tennessee State University
“One of the best things you can do is not have a package left alone on the front porch. And you can do that a couple of different ways. One is you could have your package try and deliver it at a time when you know that you’ll be at home. You could have it delivered to a trusted friend or a neighbor or maybe work if they allow you to do that. The other option, if you’re having a package delivered, is have something on your front porch that can block the view of the package from the roadway, whether that’s a plant or a bench of some type, and have it delivered just behind that. So if the thief can’t see it, then they’re less likely to take it.” 

VO
ACCORDING TO DOCTOR STICKLE… PACKAGE THEFT IS A CRIME OF OPPORTUNITY… AND STOPPING IT WILL REQUIRE TEAMWORK FROM CONSUMERS… LAW ENFORCEMENT… RETAILERS… AND SHIPPING COMPANIES. 

Raw, full-length interview covers:

  • Trends in package theft rates over time—including a decline in 2025, after years of increases;
  • The costs of package theft to both businesses and consumers;
  • What law enforcement, retailers, and delivery companies can do to discourage package theft;
  • What he has learned from studying hours of doorbell camera videos of package theft; and
  • How individuals can protect their items from package thieves.

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