- It's the holiday season and package deliveries are on the rise
- With 80 million more people shopping online this year, police are concerned about porch-pirates
- DeWitt Township Police Chief Matt Merony says to be aware of when your packages will arrive
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
It's the season for holiday packages arriving at your doorstep and I spoke with local law enforcement on how to keep these safe when they arrive.
"People aren't going out shopping much anymore. They're doing more of the online shopping where packages are being delivered." said DeWitt Township Police Chief, Matt Merony.
This year alone, the United States Postal Service predicted 800 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and the new year. With so many packages coming into neighborhoods and surrounding areas, police say criminals see packages as an easy target.
"These are crimes of opportunity. People driving around saying 'oh look! There's some packages on the porch. I'm gonna go make them mine.'"
According to Dewitt Township Police Chief the township saw only a handful of package thefts in 2022. And so far they have not seen any this year.
According to yaguara.co the number of online shoppers has increased by 80 million alone from 2022, Merony says the effort doesn't stop. His team monitors the streets and neighborhoods looking for any activity that seems out of the ordinary and asks if anyone else sees something, to report it.
"If there is something that is raising the short hairs on the back of their neck, that is not right in that community, that's what we're here for." said Merony.
Another note Chief Merony makes is to have cameras installed on your home to monitor all activity that occurs when you're gone.
"It serves two purposes, its that immediate notification, and its evidence." said Merony.
Evidence which can then be submitted to the police to help identify an individual, and aid in an investigation.
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