Damn porch pirates!!
I am doing a side project for one of the theme parks here in Orlando and had some supplies stolen from my front door at 2:30 in the afternoon. The funny thing is it was a roll of wire. I'm sure they were hoping for an I-phone 10 or something more valuable. The wire probably ended up in a dumpster somewhere.
I have security cameras and have the footage the the thief pulling their car into my driveway, casually walking to my front door and then driving away. I was a two person operation one was driving while the other grabbed the package. Several of my neighbors also have cameras and tried to get the license plate, but the car was too far away and the resolution of the cameras too low to read it.
I printed out stills from the video of the person and car with a subtitle that says. "This guy steals packages. Be on the lookout." I taped them to my front door and put a sign in my front yard should the thief return and to notify delivery personnel as well as my neighbors.
I called the cops, but was told to notify the shipper. I was shocked that they didn't seem to care or want me to file a report. We are going to call again today and demand that an officer come out and take a report. My hopes are that they put my info in a database that they use to track where this activity is happening and increase patrols in those areas.
Am I giving the police too much credit?
When I contacted the shipper (FedEx) I was inform that the package was shipped using "Smart Post" and this is actually a service provided by USPS and that I need to contact them. When I did I was informed that I need to contact FedEx. The old run around game.
So in an effort to stop this from happening again I did some research and sort of hit a dead end.
The recommendations I found are:
1. Track the package so you know when to expect it. I did. I knew the package was delivered. The thief had it in his hands 1 hr later. This method does not stop the activity.
2. Have the package delivered to work. I do this on a regular basis, but it is not always practical especially for large packages that may not fit in my car. I'll get to an example in a moment.
3. Install security cameras that notify you when it detects motion and records. I have cameras with this ability. I quickly discovered that they record almost constantly, and being interrupted with constant notifications gets old really quick. So I turned the notifications off. Besides the thief is not afraid of cameras. He knows there is nothing you can do with his picture unless you get the plate number and I'm not sure what would happen if I had it.
4. Have package delivered to a neighbors house that is home. I am not real close with many of my neighbors and I really don't want to have to rely on them for that. I am a very independent person.
5. Buy a delivery drop box. I decided to try this. I found one on Amazon for $45. It fits the decor of the house and will keep packages dry if it rains. The idea is that if the package is out of site the thief will pass it up. It is very unlikely that they will walk up and check inside to see if there is something to steal. It's just not worth the risk. The concern is that the delivery person may not use it even though it is clearly labeled DELIVERIES. Here is an example of a delivery due to the size that has to be delivered to the house.
6. Make the package have to be signed for which I don't have control over. This is up to the sender. Then I need to play tag with the delivery driver or go pick it up from the delivery service. This is a major hassle and defeats the purpose of having it shipped to the house. Also see bullet 2 above.
I'm looking for more practical ideas that may deter this from happening.
I remember around Christmas time some guy made a glitter bomb bait package that someone took. I thought about filling a box with my dog's crap and leaving it for them. I read that in NY Amazon worked with NYPD and put GPS trackers in bait boxes then arrested the thief.
Here is an Idea:
https://www.theblankbox.com/shop
I'm just looking for feedback.
When something like this happens, you really want revenge...I mean justice. LOL
Chris
PS
Here are the grabs from the security video. I plan to upgrade my cameras too. I know the quality is horrible. This seems to happen to every camera I get after a year or so. They start off normal then degrade to what you see here.