Sonoma County law enforcement warns of increased package theft during holiday season

With holiday shopping season in full swing, law enforcement officials in Sonoma County are warning residents to be vigilant during a time of year that typically brings a spike in package theft and car break-ins.

Opportunistic thieves take advantage of the high volume of packages being delivered to people’s homes during the holiday season, said Santa Rosa police Sgt. Marcus Sprague.

“People steal packages all year round, but the increased chaos of the holidays attracts more people looking to commit that crime,” Sprague said.

There were 43 reports of stolen packages in Santa Rosa in December 2016, Sprague said. That’s three times the number of stolen packages reported in November 2016 and January 2017 combined, according to data provided by Santa Rosa police.

Santa Rosa and Petaluma police and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office all conduct annual sting operations to catch people trying to snatch packages left on porches in residential areas during the month of December.

Police place a GPS unit inside a package and then leave it on the front porch or doorstep of a cooperating resident. If the tracked package moves from the porch or doorstep, law enforcement staged nearby will respond.

In 2016, these operations yielded a handful of arrests in both Santa Rosa and Petaluma, officials said.

Sheriff’s deputies made no arrests in sting operations last year, said Sgt. Spencer Crum, the Sheriff’s Office spokesman. But the point is not making arrests, he said, it’s deterring crime by making potential thieves question whether or not the parcel they’re eyeing is a decoy.

Both Sprague and Petaluma Police ?Lt. Ron Klein said car break-ins also increase this time of year.

“There’s just so much more traffic this time of year with so many people shopping it creates a lot more opportunity for theft,” Klein said.

People who leave conspicuous packages in the backseat of their vehicle put themselves at risk of becoming victims of theft, Klein said.

People might find their window smashed and holiday gifts gone, but many cases occur where people just ?forget to lock their cars doors, he said.

Home surveillance systems such as front-door cameras have given police a leg up in some cases involving package theft.

Santa Rosa police arrested a man for stealing a package left at someone’s home in November, Sprague said.

The resident had a doorbell camera that caught the thief in action, he said.

“The victim submitted the video and we recognized him (the suspect) right away,” Sprague said.

To avoid having holiday packages being stolen at all, lockboxes work best, he said.

Neighbors can help, too, he said, as most packages can be tracked almost down to the hour of delivery, so it should be easy to let a neighbor know when to look for a package on you doorstep, Sprague said.

“One of the biggest ways I’ve found to reduce crime is having neighbors watch out for each other,” he said. “If you’re not going to be home, ask a neighbor to pick it up for you.”

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com.