Danville Police Using GPS Trackers to Catch Package Thieves
DANVILLE – Police say they are deploying a team of undercover and investigative officers, along with GPS-equipped “bait boxes” to combat a “rash” of recent package thefts in town.
Authorities say officers will be conducting undercover enforcement in areas where recent package thefts are being perpetrated in Danville.
Along with enforcement, police say they have started using “bait boxes” equipped with GPS tags in an attempt to apprehend the perpetrators in the act of stealing packages.
Danville Investigators are also working with neighboring agencies to correlate similar incidents and the suspects identified by those jurisdictions. Police say they have also been in contact with Federal Express and UPS and asked them to have their driver’s report any suspicious activity.
Danville Police also say they have received suspect information including license plates, photos, and other tips that detectives are using in their investigations. They ask that members of the community call 911 to report anything that looks suspicious or out of place.
The Town’s Public Information Coordinator Geoff Gillette also requested that Nextdoor users call 911 or the non-emergency number of (925) 820-2144 to report suspicious activity, instead of attempting to contact him via private message to report suspicious activity as some users have done in the past.
Police offered a few tips to keep packages safe during the holidays:
• To help prevent package theft, make sure your video security system is visible and positioned correctly to get a good view of anyone approaching your front door
• Have UPS, USPS, DHL or Fed Ex staff hold packages at their terminal for pickup
• Ask for package delivery to your workplace instead of to your home
• Require a signature on all deliveries
Package thefts are usually classified as “petty thefts.” There have been 9 reports of residential petty thefts in Danville last week, 2 in San Ramon and an unknown number of reports in Alamo.
A map shows the areas where residential petty thefts have occurred last week, according to police records.
