Slashdot Mirror
Amazon Helps Cops Set Up Package Theft Sting Operations (vice.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Motherboard:
In response to Amazon packages being stolen from people's doorsteps, police departments around the country have set up sting operations that use fake packages bugged with GPS trackers to find and arrest people who steal packages. Internal emails and documents obtained by Motherboard via a public records request show how Amazon and one police department partnered to set up one of these operations.
The documents obtained by Motherboard -- which include an operations plan and internal emails between Amazon and the Hayward, California Police Department -- show that Amazon's "national package theft team" made several calls to the Hayward Police Department and sent the department packages, tape, and stickers that allowed the department to set up a "porch pirate" operation in November and December of 2018... Several other cities around the country -- including Aurora, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Hayward, California -- have also conducted porch pirate sting operations aided by Amazon. Jersey City, New Jersey -- like Hayward, California -- put GPS-tracking devices inside the dummy packages. Aurora and Albuquerque, meanwhile, used doorbell cameras from Ring -- which is owned by Amazon -- to capture video footage and surveil for theft.
The documents obtained by Motherboard -- which include an operations plan and internal emails between Amazon and the Hayward, California Police Department -- show that Amazon's "national package theft team" made several calls to the Hayward Police Department and sent the department packages, tape, and stickers that allowed the department to set up a "porch pirate" operation in November and December of 2018... Several other cities around the country -- including Aurora, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Hayward, California -- have also conducted porch pirate sting operations aided by Amazon. Jersey City, New Jersey -- like Hayward, California -- put GPS-tracking devices inside the dummy packages. Aurora and Albuquerque, meanwhile, used doorbell cameras from Ring -- which is owned by Amazon -- to capture video footage and surveil for theft.
I have a better plan: Amazon talks to their shipping partner and tells them to ring the doorbell and actually deliver the package to a person, instead of leaving it on the porch. And if they're not paying enough for that, they should pay them more.
Let me guess... cops wouldn't be wasting time on minor misdemeanors stings. They'll be planting items in the box which has value that meet or exceed the felony level charges.
is there's way more wage theft (not, "I got paid less than I deserve" but "I got paid less than I was legally owed") than robbery but we've got around 1000 cops nationwide pounding that beat and several hundred thousand on robbery.
For this you can't even argue there's the risk of violence. Package theft if done while no one is looking.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Unless your a porch pirate, how could this possibly cause trouble? Police work with companies all the time to help stop theft and fraud. Why is this news?
This is fine, but really - with mail order now being so common - everyone really needs a locking mailbox that accepts packages. These exist, assuming the delivery people are smart enough to use them. Granted, you can't fit a huge package in them, but most will fit.
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
Have the packages delivered to a drop-off point where you can pick them up later.
THIS is why my family has paid for a professional drop box for over thirty years.
We discovered that some checks delivered to our home were simply left behind the shrubs next to the front door, and had been there for two weeks, since we don't usually use or check the front door.
It's a touch over $200/year, and totally worth every penny.
I have a better plan: Amazon talks to their shipping partner and tells them to ring the doorbell and actually deliver the package to a person, instead of leaving it on the porch. And if they're not paying enough for that, they should pay them more.
Bad idea. Stealing packages out of my front door is no different from stealing mail out of my mailbox, and I shouldn't have to be forking extra money in my shipping costs so that Amazon can pay shipping companies the xtra cost of face-to-face delivery.
Additionally, for many of us who are out of homes most of the day, it is extremely inconvenient to have to limit our purchases to face-to-face deliveries only. This is an inane requirement that can not be easily met by the average customer. Just think about it.
I understand the possible implications (the ever present slippery slope of a big tech behemoth partnering with law enforcing agencies, but I find this to be an splendid idea.
It's either that or us customers having to mount security/honey-pot-package systems to track theft of our own purchases at an extra cost just because some fuckers can't help themselves with other people's shit.
I'm not a fan of some of Amazon's practices, but I'm on board with this.
In rural or suburban areas, porch pirates usually drive their own vehicles. I've seen dozens of videos of porch pirates stealing packages and then hopping into a car. But without the license plate, it's not enough for the police to find them.
Set up a license plate reader (LPR) camera, and you can give the cops something to work with. That assumes, of course, that the police will bother to take action even with the license plate.
Current Modus operandi;
walk up to door,
pick up package,
walk away,
profit!
Now it will be
Walk up to door,
pickup package,
walk away,
stuff into heavy Mylar bag to block GPS and Cell signals.
Profit!
This would not only increase the coverage of finding thieves but also serve to discourage future thefts once word got out. Customers can return to GPS devices back to Amazon at either a local lockbox/Whole Foods or mail them back if necessary with a prepaid label.
We've recently seen stories in which a Tesla had video of a man breaking the window that included his face and license plate and where video doorbells were filming those that stole them. In both of those stories, the police had little to no interest in pursuing the case.
In both cases there was also a high probability that the individuals had committed strings of those crimes. Catching the individuals could prevent a lot of theft and damage. It is very possible they have priors and could get very significant time. If not, given that they know who is doing things, they should be able to do a bit of police work and prove the pattern. Who knows, perhaps they'll have a pile of doorbells in their home ready to sell on E-Bay or a little surveillance on the car could catch them doing other drive-by Tesla break-ins.
In both of those cases, I saw many responses on comment sites with worse things that police didn't care to pursue including grand theft auto and night-time residential B&Es.
I've personally had night-time B&Es twice. In both cases I knew who did them. One was an officer and another was someone who had a restraining order against them. Both managed to leave blood evidence. In both cases, the police didn't feel the case worth the time and cost of pursuit. My interpretation was that I was not in upper class neighborhoods where these things matter.
Yet, Amazon is able to get them to spend time on package theft? Why? Are they also paying them or giving a kickback perhaps? Just because they are Amazon? Citizens don't matter but companies do? What's the deal?
We borrowed money to bail out the corrupt trade unions at General Motors.
The magic words are "DRUGS" and "GUNS" That's what motivates our for profit police, things they can seize. Anything else is just incidental.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
Amazon already sells a way to prevent radio tracking from devices hidden inside delivery boxes: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=myl... Thieves can bring the boxes back to a room that is also RF shielded, remove the RF tracking devices, deactivate them, & sell them on Amazon & Ebay.
I think a better solution is for Amazon & its customers to stop creating tempting opportunities for theft out in the world we all have to live in. I don't want Amazon to encourage thieves to patrol my neighbourhood looking for opportunities. It's just a really bad idea.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
I had my packages stolen, and then started having them delivered to my work location and/or amazon lockers when available. It is inconvenient, however safer.
The main driver of the issue is that police will not have the resources to look at small crimes. In fact, it seems like they will not be able to prosecute if the item costs less than $1000 or so: https://www.latimes.com/opinio...
The thieves know this, and they would not care even if they get caught. This is not a good thing for our society. If we do not have resources to prosecute them we should at least put some method of discouragement. Community service, or financial penalties, or some another method to prevent future thefts.
Otherwise we would essentially give up the sanctuary of homes, and hence civilized society.
yes, the bailouts were better than nothing, but there were much better alternatives to both. The first is stopping out of control gambling on the part of massive banking institutions in the first place. But failing that we can provide bail out from the other end of the equation: the individual borrowers. For example, the government could have bought people's mortgages at low or zero interest to the borrower, allowing people to keep their homes while keeping the economy strong. And if all else fails, rather than just handing out money we can buy out the failing companies, nationalize them, then privatize them later when the economy calms down.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/