HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Several police agencies in the metro Atlanta are planning sting operations to catch package thieves as the holiday season approaches.
“We are planning on doing some operations this season where we are going to put some bait packages out, with tracking devices in them, to see if we can can catch some of these thieves who are doing this,” said Oakwood Police Lt. Stewart Webb.
Greater Atlanta ranks sixth in the nation for porch package theft with more than 1 million packages stolen last year.
Oakwood resident Glenn Weekley told Channel 2’s Tom Regan he spotted someone snatching a package off his porch as he arrived home, but the thief got scared.
“I said, ‘Stop, I have a gun.’ Actually he didn’t stop. He just dropped the package and ran,” said Weekley.
Police recommend several strategies to avoid becoming a porch pirate victim, including closely tracking the delivery time of your package. If you can’t be home, ask if a neighbor can pick it up.
Some delivery services will follow specific instructions to drop packages in less visible location from the street. Amazon also has drop lockers where packages can be picked up using a security code sent by an app or email.
Several years ago, Georgia passed a law to crack down on porch package theft. Someone convicted of three thefts in three different locations can be charged with a felony and receive a fine and jail time.
Police recommend that porch package victims file a police report to expedite refunds or credits for stolen items.
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