Police give tips to keep package deliveries safe during Amazon Prime day

OCEAN PINES, Md. – This Amazon Prime day, millions of people will be getting packages delivered right to their doorstep. But all of the exposed boxes can create a porch pirate’s paradise.

Ocean Pines resident, Russell Lederman, is an avid Amazon buyer himself and is lucky enough to have never fallen victim to porch pirates. He said it’s probably thanks to the five cameras keeping an eye on his home 24/7.

“Cameras, to me, in this day and age, are a good idea and they’re not really expensive. My cameras were about $59 each, times 5, and the app is free,” Lederman said.

Ocean Pines chief of police, Tim Robinson, said there are a few steps you can take to ensure your package makes it into your home, and not in the hands of a pirate.

If you’re not home, you can ask someone you trust to pick up your package when it’s delivered; you can also change the drop off location to your local post office; and of course, you can follow Lederman’s lead and get a surveillance camera.

“One of my favorite sayings is, while a picture says 1,000 words, video says volumes of information,” Chief Robinson said. “We have solved a few cases here and have gotten great information from homeowners, even if it wasn’t a victim, someone having a camera, ring camera, a doorbell cam, it’s a great tool to have.”

But if you live in a quiet community like Ocean Pines, Chief Robinson said if you just stay on top of your delivery, you should be fine. Because more often than not, these are crimes of opportunity.

“Probably during the daytime, when more people tend not to be home, a lot of property crimes are unfortunately committed during the daytime when everybody is at work,” Chief Robinson said.