D.C. police used decoy packages equipped with AirTags to arrest a suspected package thief Wednesday.
Police placed the packages on the steps of a private residence in Northeast D.C. and waited for someone to take the bait.
After the packages were swiped, police tracked the AirTags and arrested the suspect.
The operation was the direct result of many citizen complaints, 5th District Cmdr. Sylvan Altieri said.
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“Even though there are violent crime issues throughout the District of Columbia, when we go to these community meetings and we talk to members, citizens part of what they speak about is things like package thefts, retail theft, traffic issues,” he said. “Because people want to live a life.”
Nationwide, thefts of packages from front porches and stoops cost U.S. consumers and businesses an estimated $19 million in 2022, according to a study by Forbes Business. A whopping 79% of Americans surveyed reported having a package stolen from their front porch, the study found. Of the stolen packages, 52% were from Amazon.
“It’s a hard crime to really deal with, because it’s very random,” Altieri said. “I mean, people walk around, they steal. So, we started looking at the thing, like, how are we going to solve this? We can’t have officers just driving around trying to hopefully see someone steal a package.”
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He said his officers are looking for 5th District residents willing to volunteer their porches. Having a doorbell camera would help.
“If we have someone on video actually taking the package, we can charge them with theft,” Altieri said. “If we have them after the fact and it’s just an apprehension, we can charge them with RSP, receiving stolen property.”
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