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Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

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Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#491
post #256

If you're concerned about package thieves, just buy an outdoor cabinet and put it next to your door with a note asking that packages be placed in it. I use an Ikea Josef: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/outdoo... You don't even need a lock for it. If you can get the deliverymen to consistently place packages in it, the thieves will have no idea if there's actually a package at your door to steal…

Yeah, we had a package stolen off our porch, so we did that. It's a bench with a liftable top. The plan was to put a padlock on it. All of our packages are addressed to: Shaftway Place in Bench - Code 1234 24601 Where I Live St. My City, ST, ZipZipZip We order a lot of stuff, and probably average 3 deliveries per day. In the last 3 months we've had exactly one package placed in the bench. And we never even got around…

Putting a note on the inside of the bench with the bench lid already open seems like a pretty good idea. having a bench with a liftable top is also pretty good since having a bench outdoors is pretty nice too.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#492
post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned from Nextdoor, that a neighbor of mine put cat litter in an amazon box, and later found out her car's driver side window busted in and the litter dumped on the seat. I now just have packages sent to lockers and UPS/FedEX access points, and I know a few who have packages delivered to their office. The crappy part is that she captured clear detail of both events but police couldn't be bothered. Nest and Ring…

Have your neighbor contact her State Representative or State Senator. Police know their budgets will get screwed if they piss off these people. Twice I have emailed the police and CC the Mayor of my city. I got a sorry can we meet in person response in an hour. The Sargent on Call was eating humble pie when he was called in and got chewed out by the Mayor and the Police. (Story a neighbor I don't know was physically…

I forgot to mention this is in the city of St Louis. They all know they've got far bigger fish to fry.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You understand why shooting someone is controversial, but you don't understand why recklessly causing someone to go blind is controversial?

This is a silly comment. You're more likely to blind someone with the dust your car kicks up as you drive by them, and such a person would be actually innocent as opposed to our hypothetical vision-impaired thief.

Likelihood of injury is irrelevant. If your actions recklessly caused the injury of another person, you are liable for them, even if there was only a 1 in a trillion chance of it happening.

And yes, by the way, if you drive by someone knowing that by doing so you will launch debris towards another person in a manner that could injure them, and your car kicks up a rock and hits that person in the head, you would also be liable.

Innocence is also irrelevant, as you do not have the right to injure another person, even if they stole from you.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#494
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally because people don't want it. Shipping used to be a lot stricter about signatures, etc, but people usually aren't home when the packages get delivered, and package theft isn't a significant enough problem to make the extra security worth the inconvenience.

> but people usually aren't home when the packages get delivered I still don't understand why this hasn't been 'disrupted' by a company providing evening deliveries. They could do business delivery during the afternoon and then switch to residential. Nightcall! I'll even throw a name in for free.

Amazon is renting vans from Uhaul here to get all their packages out to houses. They are delivering (probably) 12 hrs a day not even including the Fedex, UPS, and USPS deliveries (I'm not sure how they decide which option to ship with).

There is way too much volume to fit deliveries into times when people are home.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your intention is for someone to take the CCTV into their private car or residence, that is also very different from putting a CCTV on your porch. I'm not saying the thieves are in the right here. Just that crimes don't usually cancel each other out.

The thieves are the ones bringing the camera into their privacy zone, not the person who made the package. The thief, in committing the theft, explicitly consented to taking an unknown item into their possession.

But the person who built the device did so with the intention of recording people in private spaces. The person committing the theft did not explicitly consent to being recorded in a private space. They are still being recorded unknowingly by a device designed to do that.

What I'm saying is; the thief broke a law but the person making the recordings could have also broken laws as well. Two wrongs don't make a right, and all that. Just seems like a good gag for YouTube but a bad practice to encourage.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#497
post #256

If you're concerned about package thieves, just buy an outdoor cabinet and put it next to your door with a note asking that packages be placed in it. I use an Ikea Josef: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/outdoo... You don't even need a lock for it. If you can get the deliverymen to consistently place packages in it, the thieves will have no idea if there's actually a package at your door to steal…

Yeah, we had a package stolen off our porch, so we did that. It's a bench with a liftable top. The plan was to put a padlock on it. All of our packages are addressed to: Shaftway Place in Bench - Code 1234 24601 Where I Live St. My City, ST, ZipZipZip We order a lot of stuff, and probably average 3 deliveries per day. In the last 3 months we've had exactly one package placed in the bench. And we never even got around…

> average 3 deliveries per day

Wow. I really wonder what the environmental impact is of just one household doing this. I think I order something once every.. two months maybe? Three? And if I could get the desired electronics in a local store, I probably would.

Edit: To reply to the three initial comments at once, I see your point. I was thinking "but it's not just about the last mile, it's about getting that package all the way from China or where ever it comes from"... but of course, if I buy it in a store, it still had to come from china. Someone driving to your home all day seems terrible at first impression, but even without grouping the deliveries, I guess it might not be much worse than someone who gets groceries by car. I'd be interested to hear about research that looked into the topic.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stealing (physically at least) is a stupid way to make money. A $200 game console will hardly net a thief $50. There are a lot of issues in my city with the less fortunate stealing items to make some small money - bikes are a common target. It neither really helps the thief, and it's very unfortunate for the person stolen from.

In California, thefts of under $950 are not felony crimes. And there's no more "three strikes". So you can steal packages for a living and, at worst, have to spend a week or two in jail over the course of a year. Not a bad living.

Stealing mail is a federal offense, so it doesn't matter what the state laws are. Now that applies specifically to deliveries by USPS ( Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter gen­erally [1]). Stealing shipments by UPS or FedEx can also be considered a federal offense if the package crossed state lines during shipment (Theft from Interstate Shipment[2]).

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1708 [2] https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1333-gen...

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is it a felony to have a CCTV?

In California, New York and Rhode Island it's illegal to place a hidden video camera in a place where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. These would be considered hidden video cameras. Not sure the severity of the charges in those states, but in other jurisdictions recording audio of conversations without all-party consent violates wiretapping laws and is a felony.

people have no reasonable expectation of privacy when entering another person's private property. Even if they were invited, you can record in your own house without worry.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#500
post #256

If you're concerned about package thieves, just buy an outdoor cabinet and put it next to your door with a note asking that packages be placed in it. I use an Ikea Josef: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/outdoo... You don't even need a lock for it. If you can get the deliverymen to consistently place packages in it, the thieves will have no idea if there's actually a package at your door to steal…

I've been wondering why Amazon oriented their smart lock delivery service to an orwellian camera and lock in the home setup instead of hooked to an outdoor box like this.
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