Walnut Creek Package Thefts Increase: Police

WALNUT CREEK, CA — While many Walnut Creek residents are doing their best to play Santa this holiday season, there are others who've put on their Grinch masks.

Walnut Creek Police report, "Due to the Holiday Season there has been an increase in package thefts throughout the City. Packages that are left unattended make for easy targets for criminals. Package thefts commonly occurs during normal working hours when many people are not home."

Earlier this month, police released the photo above of an alleged package thief caught on camera.

To avoid becoming a victim, police offer these tips:

• If possible and allowed by your employer have packages delivered to your work place.
• If having packages delivered to work is not an option, have packages delivered to a place where they can be received in person, such as a trusted neighbor who stays at home during the day, a retired relative, or your children’s daycare provider.
• Request that the shipper require a signature confirmation or hold your package at their pick up facility until you are available to pick it up in person.
• If purchasing from a large retail store, request that the package be shipped to their nearest store for pick up at your earliest convenience.
• Provide delivery instructions to the shipper so that packages can be left in a safe location, such as behind your gate, side of the garage, etc. The goal is to have the package out of sight from the street and sidewalk.
• It is always a good idea to sign up for delivery alerts from the shipper (i.e. email confirmations, etc.). That way you know when your package has been delivered.
• One last suggestion, utilize Nextdoor to help with preventing package thefts. Get to know your neighbors and stay connected via Nextdoor. If for the off chance that you are not home when your package is delivered, message a neighbor that you know and trust to retrieve the package for you. Having the Nextdoor App on your phone makes it easy to stay connected.

Taking the necessary steps to ensure your package is safe from the time it is shipped to the time you physically receive it will insure its security.