Package thefts are common during the holiday season, yes, unfortunate. If you know your package was stolen, report the incident to the police. Officers at the station will take all the information you have and will be dispatched to those areas.

Chances are, you are not the only one and the more people report areas of package thefts, the better our officers on patrol can keep a watch at your neighborhood.

It is not possible to have all our officers on every street to patrol for package thieves, so if you have surveillance cameras installed on your front/back porches, this will assist our detectives to search for these thieves.

If your porch is accessible to anyone on the street, it would be better for you to take advantage of some of the services offered by retailers and delivery services. Amazon lets their customers use a service called Amazon Locker.

Instead of delivering a package to your home or business address, you can select an Amazon Locker location and pick up your package at a time that’s convenient for you. Once your package is delivered to the Amazon Locker, you’ll receive an e-mail notification with a unique pickup code that includes the address and opening times for your selected Locker location. -Amazon

UPS uses “access points” for customers who they are not able to contact at home.

UPS Access Point locations, neighborhood stores designed to make online shopping easier and delivery more convenient. From shipping and receiving your packages to integrating our locations into your business, we can help make your life easier. -UPS

Find out where your nearest access point is in your area.

Break-ins at residences can also occur during the holidays. You may not notice, but your house can be targeted with potential thieves lurking and checking your daily routines; when you got to work, when you come home, how many people live at your home. The simple act of setting up your lights on timers will help deter thieves from going to your home. Or better yet, installing surveillance cameras.

If you have footage of a suspicious person lurking about or of a package being stolen share this with your police. The sooner we have this information the better and you may also help a neighbor.

In Somerville package thefts have dropped since 2015. In 2015, the number of reported package thefts soared to 88. In 2016, there was a rapid decline to about 57 reported thefts, last year, the reported thefts were 53. This information by no means reflects all the package thefts in our city. But we do need your help to get these numbers to decline. Report your package thefts to the police by calling our main line and speaking to an officer at the station. You can do this by dialing our non-emergency line at 617- 625-1600, and say “Police Officer“, at the prompt. If you are not able to reach an officer right away, leave a message with your name and a call back number.

Remain vigilant and stay safe.