Police warn against holiday package theft

As more people shop online for the holiday season, police are warning against ‘front porch pirates.’ Every year around this time, law enforcement across the Central Coast see an increase in package theft from people’s homes.

Brian Laplace works at Music Unlimited in downtown Monterey. To keep his packages safe he sends his online purchases to his job.

“I’ll be here when it gets here. As opposed to itshowing up at your house when you’re always at work,” said Laplace.

According to the National Retail Federation, consumers said almost half of their shopping will be online this holiday season. And like Laplace, more people are sending their packages to the office.

“Who has a receiving area at their house? This place has a receiving area and it will sit there and wait until I can get to it,” said Laplace.

But if you don’t have the option to send your packages to work, Monterey police offer these simple tips:

• Request A Signature
• Track Your Packages
• Alert A Neighbor

Or, Monterey Police Officer Kristofer Richardson has another suggestion, “Security cameras are always a smart investment because in the event that mail is stolen obviously if we have video of the person stealing it. It’s an easier way to identify them.”

Richardson said the smaller the package, the more attractive to thieves.

“Nowadays cellphones, iPods, things like that come in small packages and there worth high amounts of money,” said Richardson.

Still, small business employee Brian Laplace said he knows one more way to make sure your package doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. He said to shop local.

“Come into the shops around downtown too, you can actually go home with stuff and save the whole issue,” said Laplace.