Washington Apartment Community Package Thief Caught in Action

Package and mail theft is an ongoing problem for cities across North America. A 2019 study revealed that 90,000 packages disappeared daily in New York City– and the rate of thefts has soared in cities like Washington D.C. and Denver as well. 

Residents in multifamily communities seek out safety and security for themselves and their property when choosing a place to call home- and with more shopping than ever conducted online, package and mail security is top of mind for many. Community owners and managers can take steps to improve property security and outcomes with creative solutions. See what happened when a thief targeted this Washington apartment community, completely unaware that Stealth was watching. 

At 1:49 a.m., Stealth security operators monitoring a Washington multifamily residential community spotted an individual out of place- and exploring the mailroom. After taking a moment to assure that it wasn’t simply a resident getting home to check the mail late, operators were able to observe the individual checking multiple packages before grabbing a few and placing them into a backpack before exiting into the parking facilities. Local police dispatch was immediately contacted, and officers arrived on site quickly, intercepting the individual and placing them under arrest off camera. Officers contacted Stealth to request footage of the incident and were included as a recipient of the report. 

Help Protect Your Residents and Property with Proactive Security Measures 

Every year, more people do their shopping online. During the holiday season, multifamily residential lobbies can begin to look like post offices, with packages piling up in mailrooms, concierge desks, or other common spaces. For a thief seeking out low-hanging fruit, these piles of packages can prove too tempting to resist. 

While property owners and managers aren’t responsible for missing packages, there is a responsibility to secure the property, and mail theft represents a security breach. Not to mention the fact that a resident that comes across a thief in action may be at physical risk. The potential liabilities compound from that point.  

Live video monitoring is a proactive security solution that can help deter unwanted and criminal activities at your property. From theft to loitering, vandalism to solicitation, vagrancy to a wide variety of other security risks- Stealth’s live video monitoring solution can help. 

With customizable video surveillance solutions that work in real time to catch events as they happen, Stealth uses a combination of video analytics and human intelligence to watch for activity- not just motion- and provides the highest possible level of security while saving 25-60% versus traditional security guards. 

Police response times are typically improved as well, just as in the case above, thanks to our ability to provide dispatch with live, up-to-the-minute details and descriptions of suspects, locations, and activity in progress. 

To learn more, contact us today and get a free quote from a security expert in your industry and area. 

Texas Private Security License Number: B14187.