Columbia residents report several stolen packages

Several packages around Columbia have been reported stolen in the past few weeks. Three men were arrested last week for stealing packages around one Columbia neighborhood.

“Thieves are always going to be looking to steal items especially around this time of the year,” said Detective Tom O’Sullivan with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. “There’s going to be more packages sitting on people’s front porches or outside their doors and thieves know this.”

O’Sullivan said finding the suspects in these crimes is frustrating for law enforcement and for the victims because it’s often hard to recover stolen property. While he said people can’t completely prevent theft 100 percent of the time, they can be vigilant with their prevention methods.

For high value items, he recommends getting a signature on delivery or even getting it delivered somewhere safer.

“You can request the package be delivered to a neighbor who’s home during the day,” he said. “Some of these package delivery companies will allow you to pick up a package at one of their facilities.”

If a package does end up pilfered, consumer experts say a victim’s first call should be to the delivery company to find out what happened to the package. After they confirm what happened, they should call police to make a report.

If the package is gone and not able to be recovered, some companies might give customers a refund.

“Some companies will do something to compensate you,” said Sean Spence with the Better Business Bureau. “They might send you the item again, they might give you a refund. I would just look at the policies of the specific company that you’re dealing with.”