Full Notification

  With the holiday season upon us, the Berkeley Police Department is already seeing the annual spike in porch piracy (package and mail thefts).  Attached are two video links of pirates in action stealing mail/packages on December 7, 2017 at an apartment building on the 2400 block of Fulton Street.  In both of these cases, the suspects waited immediately outside the locked door until a tenant leaving the building passed them by creating an opportunity for bad behavior.
 
https://youtu.be/bc5hf74pXTk
 
https://youtu.be/Dspfnm3LLe8
 
In an effort to protect your property we offer these tips:
 

• Get to know your neighbors and look out for one another
• Don’t let packages sit outside of your door for long periods of time
• If you live in an apartment with a secured lobby, don’t allow people inside who aren’t there to see you (they can wait to be buzzed in)
• Have packages shipped to your residence when you are home, or to a trusted friend/relative
• If allowed by your employer, consider having the packages shipped to work.
• Sign up for delivery notification alerts from the mail service (USPS, FedEx, Amazon, etc.)
• Sign up to have packages held at the mail service, if the option exists (it does with major carriers like UPS, FedEx)
• Consider having Amazon purchases shipped to Amazon lockers
• Track your packages or request a signature confirmation if possible
• Consider installing a surveillance system (there are many off the shelf products that make it easy)