HARRISON –
The Christmas Grinch has been busy in Harrison this season.
Police said that during the last five weeks or so, they’ve received reports of more than 20 package thefts from town residents.
Here’s an accounting of days and locations:
Nov. 3, 100 block of Essex St.; Nov. 7, foot of Harrison Ave.; Nov. 12, two on 700 block of Jersey St.; Nov. 13, 1000 block of Frank Rodgers Blvd. South; Nov. 18, 600 block of Guyon Drive and 200 block of Sussex St.; Nov. 23, 600 block of Cape May St.; Nov. 24, 300 block of Essex St.; between Nov. 24 and 25, S. Second and Sussex Sts. and 50 block of Washington St.; Nov. 26, 100 block of Sussex St.; between Nov. 25 and 27, 100 block of Passaic Ave.; Nov. 28, 100 block of Seventh St.; Nov. 20, 300 block of Essex St.; Dec. 2, 500 block of Cross St.; Dec. 3, 100 block of Cross St.; Dec. 6, Frank E. Rodgers Blvd. S. and Essex St.; Dec. 7, 100 block of S. Third St.; Dec. 8, 10 block of Kingsland Ave.; Dec. 10, 400 block of Worthington Ave. and 100 block of S. Third St.
To protect yourself against possible losses, police recommend taking these precautions:
- Ask for a signature confirmation of delivery. By doing this, the deliverer will have to wait until you’re available or will have to deliver the package to a neighbor.
- Insure valuable items.
- Encourage your neighbors to watch for deliveries and agree to secure each other’s packages. This includes watching for any strangers going onto porches for no apparent reason or following delivery trucks.
- If permitted, have your packages delivered to your workplace.
- Track packages online to see exactly when they’re sent to your house for delivery. Many companies offer a text notification to your cellular phone when a package has been delivered.
- Leave special instructions with the shipper for where to deliver the packages. A good place to receive them is on the side or back of the house so that the package cannot be seen from the road.
— Ron Leir
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