There are things that you can do to protect your incoming packages like having them delivered at work, picking them up at a UPS, FEDEX or US Postal facility, having a neighbor pick up your package when it is delivered, etc.
But, one neighborhood in South Jordan, Utah (a suburb of
Salt Lake City) is fighting back. The people there are placing decoy packages
on their front porches with the idea that if a package thief picks them up,
they will find nothing of value in the box. Neighbors hope that this will
discourage package thieves from coming back.
This idea may have some merit. If the reward of stealing
packages in a neighborhood becomes too low, package thieves might go somewhere
else to steal, or might find another crime to participate in.
Police might be a little antsy about citizens confronting
these thieves. But as long as the box is empty, or has items of little use or
worth to the thief, this should be fairly benign. As one neighbor put it, “The
goal isn’t to catch them in the act, that’s for the police. The goal is to make
it confusing and frustrating.” The hope is that the thieves get the idea that
most packages in the neighborhood are not worth the effort to steal.
So no need for snarky presents inside (say from your pets).
And empty might be just as good as having some weight in the box. Many packages
can be fairly light in real deliveries.
And if you have a security camera on your front porch, you
can still report the theft and give a deputy or local police the information so
that they can catch the crooks.
This is a new idea that might warrant consideration. How
effective it is will only be known when neighborhoods try it.
Thanks to MyEverettNews.com for the tip
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