Christmas thief caught on camera surveillance cameras
Thief commits an unusual crime, takes surveillance cameras instead of Christmas gifts.
A California Christmas thief was caught on camera stealing the very same surveillance equipment that was installed to catch people like him.
The victim, who asked not to be identified, told KTVU that he was away with his family on vacation when an alert on his smartphone around 2:30 a.m. informed him that a porch pirate had been spotted outside his door.
The footage shows a white sedan backing up on a street in Alameda, Calif., and then pulling over. A man wearing a blue coat is seen leaving his car, climbing up the stairs, walking past two packages left on the porch and instead snatching a home surveillance camera.
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A few minutes later, he can be seen again, this time with a black crate in his hands.
He's caught on camera giving himself a boost before snatching and stealing a second Bing wireless camera. A third camera was out of reach but wasn't in place to capture the crime.
Alameda Police told KTVU that the crime was an unusual one but warned it could have been an attempt to scout and prep the empty place for a future home burglary.
"The point of having a camera is to prevent or deter this kind of crime."
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"The point of having a camera is to prevent or deter this kind of crime," Alameda Police Lt. Matt McMullen said.
The camera's owner and his family cut their vacation short and returned home. They shared photos and videos with police and said nothing other than the two cameras were taken.
"We want to create a safe environment and we encourage people to have surveillance cameras," McMullen said. "The last thing we want is for them to be stolen."
Porch pirate thefts have been on the rise across the country as more and more people buy holiday packages online.
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About 92 percent of Americans were expected to receive at least one order online during this year's holiday season, according to a report from C&R research of Chicago. In 2018, an estimated 36 percent of Americans have had at least one package stolen. On average, the stolen packages are worth $109. More than 80 percent of victims contact the seller about the issue while only 13 percent report it to the police. According to the report, only 11 percent of thieves get caught.
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