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Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

bbc.com

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Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#81

Post by eropple »

cronix wrote: post #28

I haven't had any packages stolen for the last few years. We have a large "toy box" on the front porch/deck that has a padlock on it. When expecting deliveries, we just leave the lock unlocked and leave a note to put the delivery in the box and lock it. So far, so good! I can't say the same for my neighbor though. He was hit last week, and is now going to build a box. It was less than $60 to make (3/4" plywood, 2x4's…

That's a really good idea. The annoying thing in Boston is that you might have two packages from the same order (looking at you, Amazon) arrive at different times on the same day.

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#82

Post by zdragnar »

stickfigure wrote: post #59
zdragnar wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theft of goods valued under $950 was reclassified from a felony to a misdemeanor, regardless of what the item in question is (a case in 2017 was a car!). So, still a crime, on par with jaywalking and littering (which, in Cali, is a minimim $100 fine + 8 hours community service). And yet, we're talking about things that could be Christmas gifts, baby food, medicine, people's means of transportation, you name it.

on par with jaywalking and littering This is false. Jaywalking and littering (and most traffic offenses) are infractions , not misdemeanors. Misdemeanors are still serious crimes that can result in jailtime.

In California, sure. That is not true everywhere. There's occasional stories of arrests over jaywalking in Atlanta and Detroit, and Nevada does list it as a misdemeanor, on par with:

* solicitation of prostitution * DUI with no injuries * trespass * battery domestic violence (with no injuries)

https://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/misdemeanor-law.html

Same goes for littering in assorted jurisdictions. I'll concede that lumping those two as examples in a discussion involving Cali as context was misleading. The fine + 8 hours community service is for the infraction of littering in california. That is not to say that they are not misdemeanors elsewhere.

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#83

Post by zdragnar »

mikeash wrote: post #54
zdragnar wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theft of goods valued under $950 was reclassified from a felony to a misdemeanor, regardless of what the item in question is (a case in 2017 was a car!). So, still a crime, on par with jaywalking and littering (which, in Cali, is a minimim $100 fine + 8 hours community service). And yet, we're talking about things that could be Christmas gifts, baby food, medicine, people's means of transportation, you name it.

Is jaywalking really a misdemeanor? That would be incredibly harsh.

Not in California, same for littering (the reference to Cali was only for the fine + hours of community service). However, it is in Nevada:

https://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/misdemeanor-law.html

and various other jurisdictions.

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#84

Post by thaumasiotes »

eropple wrote: post #81
cronix wrote: post #28

I haven't had any packages stolen for the last few years. We have a large "toy box" on the front porch/deck that has a padlock on it. When expecting deliveries, we just leave the lock unlocked and leave a note to put the delivery in the box and lock it. So far, so good! I can't say the same for my neighbor though. He was hit last week, and is now going to build a box. It was less than $60 to make (3/4" plywood, 2x4's…

That's a really good idea. The annoying thing in Boston is that you might have two packages from the same order (looking at you, Amazon) arrive at different times on the same day.

I'm pretty sure Amazon explicitly offers the option to "group my items into as few shipments as possible, even if it takes longer".

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#85

Post by grozzle »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #84
eropple wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a really good idea. The annoying thing in Boston is that you might have two packages from the same order (looking at you, Amazon) arrive at different times on the same day.

I'm pretty sure Amazon explicitly offers the option to "group my items into as few shipments as possible, even if it takes longer".

As few as possible is sometimes still more than one, though.

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#86

Post by onetimemanytime »

fladrif wrote: post #41
nikanj wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the adequate follow-through prosecution that's the problem. Fines? Can't get blood from a stone. Jailtime? The cost-benefit analysis doesn't support that, prison time is expensive and petty theft doesn't really cause that much damage. I have no solution to offer here.

Community service, pays back the community, hopefully break-even cost in terms of administration and enforcement to labor productivity gained, at least won't be as bad as a prison sentence. At best can be a form of rehabilitation.

Community service, pays back the community,

Probably just a gimmick. Court costs and overhead time checking the crooks doing mandatory good deeds might be more. But then we have to punish them somewhow

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#87

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

cronix wrote: post #28

I haven't had any packages stolen for the last few years. We have a large "toy box" on the front porch/deck that has a padlock on it. When expecting deliveries, we just leave the lock unlocked and leave a note to put the delivery in the box and lock it. So far, so good! I can't say the same for my neighbor though. He was hit last week, and is now going to build a box. It was less than $60 to make (3/4" plywood, 2x4's…

As a metal worker, I’ve been intending to build a parcel receptical like a donation bin, you know the ones with the swinging horizontal door on the front that prevents a person from reaching inside, and a regular door with a padlock on the back.

As a metal worker, I’ve been intending to build this for the past ten years. The last thing I feel like doing when I get home is more welding. Sigh.

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#88

Post by callalex »

briandear wrote: post #68
nikanj wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the adequate follow-through prosecution that's the problem. Fines? Can't get blood from a stone. Jailtime? The cost-benefit analysis doesn't support that, prison time is expensive and petty theft doesn't really cause that much damage. I have no solution to offer here.

> petty theft doesn't really cause that much damage Sure it does. Insurance rates. Compare rates for San Francisco vs. Houston for comprehensive coverage. Or San Francisco vs. Cupertino for that matter. Every smash and grab costs everyone more money. Prop 47 is a big culprit. These thieves can cause $1000 in damage to a car, but their prosecution is pretty much pointless. If we want to talk cost benefit analysis, pro…

Why is this comment, which is sourced and well argued, greyed out without a single response?

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#89

Post by TangoTrotFox »

gojomo wrote: post #27

I wonder why stings/bait-items aren't used more often, when an area is facing a rash of specific kinds of crime, like bike theft, parked-car smash-and-grabs, and package theft. It's often a small number of violators – sometimes professional – who've been emboldened by early successes to scale up. So just a few stings, with adequate follow-through prosecution, could have a highly-leveraged effect on the overall rate.

Police departments have major limitations on manpower and budgets. Setting up sting operations with fake packages, surveillance, and all this stuff is going to be extremely expensive on both accounts. And the ultimate reward is that you just busted a guy who either committed a very minor felony which some states, such as California, are even moving to change to a misdemeanor. And I'd imagine a decent number of the offenders are not exactly financially well to do, meaning they may not even be able to pay the fines to recoup some of the costs involved in busting them.

Think about the sort of petty offenses that are more actively pursued. You'll almost always find they tend to be low execution cost with a high probability of receiving payment: traffic violations, prostitution stings, drug related stuff, etc.

Re: Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves

#90

Post by Veen »

batiudrami wrote: post #60
gojomo wrote: post #27

I wonder why stings/bait-items aren't used more often, when an area is facing a rash of specific kinds of crime, like bike theft, parked-car smash-and-grabs, and package theft. It's often a small number of violators – sometimes professional – who've been emboldened by early successes to scale up. So just a few stings, with adequate follow-through prosecution, could have a highly-leveraged effect on the overall rate.

It is creating crime which otherwise may not have existed. Maybe it's a small number of violators (do you have a citaton?) or maybe it's just a few opportunistic kids. I'd really need to see a cost/benefit analysis (not just monetary but social too).

By that standard, when the homeowners leave packages outside after delivery they’re also “creating crime”.

It’s perfectly legal and ethical to leave a package outside. What’s not ethical or legal is stealing other people’s property. The criminals are the ones creating crime, not the people trying to catch the criminals.

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