Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office are targeting thieves who steal packages delivered to porches across the county.
Working closely with the United States Postal Inspection Service, detectives with the Property Crimes Unit will be setting up a bait package mission in hopes of catching package thieves in the act.
These decoy packages are equipped with electronic tracking devices that allow deputies to track them after they’ve been stolen.
Detectives use package theft data provided by the U.S. Postal Service to determine which areas have the biggest problems with “porch pirates.”
As online ordering continues to rise due to COVID-19 and the anticipation of students learning from home at the beginning of the 2020 school year, deputies and detectives want to take proactive steps to ensure packages arrive safely.
Detectives from the Property Crimes Unit work proactively throughout the year to combat the problem of package thefts in our community. For the last five years, detectives have placed numerous bait packages throughout Washington County to deter potential package thieves.