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You’ve probably seen those doorbell-camera videos of petty thieves dashing up to homes and swiping freshly delivered packages, sometimes getting caught in booby traps that end up covering them in paint. Porch pirates, as they’re known, might be a staple of Tiktok. But they get especially busy during the holiday season, preying on an astonishing number of victims across Chicagoland.

We recognize that such small-scale stealing does not rise to the level of serious crime by Chicago standards. Every week, gun violence claims multiple lives. Homicides, assaults and armed robberies have marred our city’s reputation worldwide.

But the theft of parcels from the doorsteps of honest citizens isn’t harmless either. Even though crime rates are declining

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