DC residents decide up Amazon packages from police after rampant porch theft

Porch bandits have notoriously swindled packages beneath very daring situations, however now, Washington, D.C., bundle poachers could have an much more daunting doorstep to courageous: the police.

Police within the sixth District are partnering with Amazon to permit residents to select up their packages at Amazon lockers stationed in its amenities. A pilot program to check the idea started final week, and officers are hoping to develop this system to different districts within the metropolis.

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"By working side-by-side with group companions, we consider it’s significant and impactful to present again domestically, and we’ll proceed to search for methods to present again to this D.C. group," an Amazon spokesperson stated in a press release to the Washington Examiner.

All of it stemmed from an thought sixth District Inspector Silvan Altieri had over a yr in the past, Fox5 DC reported.

"Once I reached out to Amazon, I by no means thought they’d name me again," he advised the information outlet. "However they had been really actually open to the thought."

Lockers safeguarding packages may be opened through "barcode or use the six-digit code," based on Amazon. Residents in Washington who buy gadgets on Amazon will see an choice to have their bundle delivered to one of many hubs. To this point, there are hubs on the sixth District station in Deanwood and the substation in Anacostia.

College students from Randal Highlands Elementary College embellished the lockers with paintings and attended an unveiling ceremony for the brand new pickup station. Amazon donated $15,000 to the varsity in response to their work.

"Seeing the children right here yesterday the place they might see their paintings, it was the best factor," Altieri added, per the outlet.

"What we’re hoping is that if it really works effectively right here as a pilot, we’re going to take it to different districts within the metropolis," Altieri defined.

Washington skilled roughly 24,296 incidents of property crime within the yr ending in September 2021 — a 3% spike from the yr prior, based on knowledge from the Metropolitan Police Division.

Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.