Porch pirates beware: NJ town's police tricking thieves with GPS-loaded bait packages

It's the holiday season and many gifts already are on their way to people's doorsteps.

And to avoid thefts, the Gloucester Township Police Department has an idea for sticky-handed passersby: bait packages.

The police are strategically placing fake packages loaded with GPS trackers on homes' doorsteps, according to an article from KYW Newsradio. Anyone who might steal any of the dummy packages will be tracked down by the police.

“We’d just like to warn everybody, if you think you’re going to steal packages here in Gloucester Township, you never know what you’re gonna get,” said police chief David Harkins in the article.

“The packages that you may take may be being tracked. And you may have a police car behind you, stopping you and arresting you,” he added.

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Gloucester Police partnered with residents, business owners and with the management at some apartment buildings to get permission to place the dummy packages, Harkins said.

Currently, Gloucester Police is after a suspect accused of stealing packages from three homes in the township. The police department is circulating security camera footage of the theft incidents on its social media accounts.

According to the chief, package thefts are crimes that happen more often during the holiday season because of all the online shopping deliveries.

“This happens normally in the afternoons when the packages start getting delivered,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Holiday shopping: Police in NJ town use fake packages to bait thieves