WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — The Washington County Sheriff's Office bait package program is back this year, with an aim to catch thieves packages and other mail off of porches across the area.
Video after doorbell video captures the crime, which happens all year long. While investigators doubt they can stop it completely, Detective Patrick Altiere said they can discourage thieves during the holiday season.
"We figured if we use bait items for other things, we just sort of adapted that to packages," he said. "We put the trackers in packages and we put them on porches, and let them sit for a while. These are opportunity crimes. If somebody happens by and sees the package and grabs it, we are going to know."
Detective Altiere said after the program's first year, the thefts dropped about 10%. The number of these crimes has stayed relatively low in Washington County and they're not seeing a drastic drop every year.
"Theft numbers have gone down and they fluctuate. It just depends on the season, what's going on, economic conditions things like that," he said.
The sheriff's office reports the first bait package of the season was stolen less than 12 hours after the mission began. That mission is still underway and 25% of the bait packages set out across the county have been taken and recovered.
When it comes to protecting deliveries, Altiere explained that doorbell cameras do help. However, law enforcement cannot always make a case or recover stolen items based on video alone.
Detective Altiere said the best way to keep porch pirates at bay is to get the packages off your porch as soon as possible, or have them picked up by a neighbor, or delivered to work or another secure location.