Do you order holiday gifts online? Here’s how to keep porch pirates from stealing them – NJ.com
By Taylor Tiamoyo Harris | Posted December 07, 2018 at 11:10 AM | Updated December 07, 2018 at 12:46 PM
File photo (Joe Warner)
This is a thief’s favorite season.
On porch after porch are pretty brown boxes filled with all kind of holiday goodies people have bought for their children, or another loved one or friend. If the homeowner doesn’t snap up that package quickly, it’s a good chance it’ll be gone, cops say.
“It’s been an ongoing problem for several years with more online shopping, and convenience of ordering online without having to leave your home,” said Lt. Philip Rizzo of Franklin Township Police Department.
According to New Jersey State Police’s Uniform Crime report, more than 8,905 packages were stolen in the Garden State last year.
With online sales likely to rise at least 17 to 22 percent during the holiday season, according to an annual holiday survey from Deloitte, there will be more packages to steal.
Here’s some notable thefts and some tips to keep the Grinch from stealing your packages.
Have you seen these thieves?
Recently, Morris Township Police Department put out a notice of a package thief, but the township is no way the only municipality battling sticky fingers for gift packages.
The man pictured on the video stole a package right off the front door of a home. Luckily, a home surveillance camera was able to catch him in the act.
According to police, the man left in a white 2006 or 2007 Acura TL. He replaced the stolen package with an empty box that he found in the Skyline Drive area of town.
Since the department’s initial post, there have been five additional package thefts reported.
Thieves are everywhere
Belleville Police Department
Thieves are everywhere
In Roselle, a man working for a delivery company was caught on camera stealing packages by police.
There have even been cases of delivery people stealing packages. In Wyckoff, a newspaper delivery man was charged with stealing multiple packages
Repeat robbers
Repeat robbers
In Essex, police caught a couple who had more than 30 packages with other people’s names on them in their car. Police determined they were all stolen.
In Hudson County, a judge ordered a Hoboken man to get help after he repeatedly stole packages from houses and apartment complexes. Stealing packages can lead to federal charges depending on what’s in the package and who it’s from.
A shirt thief
Franklin Township police in Somerset County reported two incidents of stolen packages, one from the front porch and another from an apartment lobby.
And Milburn police are on the lookout for a man who stole two packages worth over $4,000 containing a number of shirts. The homeowner said the packages were delivered at 3 p.m. and they were gone by the time he got home at 8 p.m.