Home Surveillance Systems Helping Police Investigate Delivery Package Thieves
‘Porch pirating’ spikes around the holidays and Madison Police say footage from home security cameras help investigators identify crooks.
Police say there's always a spike in package thefts during the holidays.
MADISON, Wis. — It’s the time of year when online shopping sky rockets and packages are left on front porches across the country.
But what’s stopping crooks from swiping those packages while the rightful owners are at work or away from the house?
Madison Police support the rising popularity of home surveillance systems as more people do their shopping online, according to WKOW. Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain said the security footage can be a big help to officers investigating the cases of ‘porch pirating.’
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“A lot of the people who commit crimes in Madison, we have detectives who’ve had past experiences with these people, they know who they are,” DeSpain said. “Those images go out across the district to probation/parole, and sometimes there’s someone internally, in the system, who recognizes who that person might be.”
DeSpain noted that some of the thieves follow delivery trucks to scope out locations and see if someone is home.
“We have some people who are opportunistic criminals going in and taking those packages before people return to their homes,” DeSpain said.
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