Stats on package thefts from porches in Ventura County could surprise you – VC Star

With online-ordered holiday gifts being delivered to doorsteps across Ventura County, many local residents are probably worried about porch pirates.

But potential victims can take heart in this: Statistics show package thefts are down this year from 2018. Some local cities are on track to see only half the cases they saw last year.

As of a few days ago, the Ventura County Sheriffs Office, which provides police services in unincorporated areas as well as Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Ojai and Fillmore, had received reports of 53 cases so far this yearcompared to 93 last year. according to Sgt. Marta Bugarin.

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Also seeing a sharp decline was Simi Valley, with 27 cases this yearcompared to 60 in 2018, according to Cmdr. Steve Shorts.

Ventura had seen 12 cases this yearcompared to 23 in 2018, said Sgt. Edward Caliento.

Port Hueneme was on track to roughly match last years total, with 59 cases this year compared to 62 in 2018, said Norma Rodarte, senior record technician with the Port Hueneme Police Department.

Figures werent available for Oxnard, and the Santa Paula Police Department didnt have the exact number of package thefts because the agency doesnt track them separately from other thefts, saidRecords Supervisor Dianna Miller DeRemer.

Oxnard police arrested a suspected package thief after a neighbor reported suspicious activity on Tuesday.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The decline in incidents surprised some local law enforcement officers.

One of the things we are surprised is that there are not as many package thefts reported in December, Shorts said.

Officers attributed the decline to better prevention efforts by homeowners.

Almost universally, they cited increased use of video doorbells that can record the thefts and thus deter porch pirates or help police catch those who go through with the crime.

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Besides getting a video camera, agencies offered this prevention advice:

Preventing theft of whats on the porch is only part of the holiday battle against thieves; they could still break into your home, especially if youre out of town on a holiday trip.

The U.S. sees about 1.5 million home burglaries each year, with FBI statistics showing nearly 76,000 occur in Southern Californias Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

For people who are going out of town for the holidays, the Auto Club of Southern California offered these burglary prevention tips:

Mo Jazi is a breaking news reporter with The Star. Reach him atmo.najafianJazi@vcstar.comor 805-437-0236.

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Stats on package thefts from porches in Ventura County could surprise you - VC Star