Bayonne Police Combat Package Thefts

The Bayonne police recently began an initiative aimed at combatting the theft of packages this holiday season.  The Department has been utilizing “dummy’ packages in this effort, and it seems to be working.

The packages are equipped with GPS tracking devices to aid the police in finding the culprits who want nothing more than to ruin the holidays for Bayonne residents.  The program is being overseen by Bayonne’s Community Oriented Policing Unit, better known as the C.O.P. program, in coordination with the Detective Bureau.

The process is pretty simple.  Police place the “dummy’ packages on random porches throughout the city, as if they had been delivered by FedEx or UPS.  Then they wait for the thieves to show up, steal the item, and track them via the GPS.

A press release issued by the Bayonne Police Department states, “The Bayonne Police Department prides itself on providing a safe environment where all citizens of Bayonne can enjoy the quality of life they deserve.  Any incident that disrupts this will not be tolerated and the Bayonne Police Department will do its part to assure that the citizens of Bayonne feel safe.”

As a result of this initiative, the police have announced the following arrests to date:

– On December 15, 2020, 53 year-old Rose Doria of Neptune Avenue, Jersey City was taken into custody from the area of 58th Street and JFK Boulevard after she was observed behaving suspiciously in the area of the dummy package.  As officers approached her and spoke with her, they observed her to be in possession of two amazon packages not addressed to her.  The on-scene investigation led to the confirmation that Doria had just stole the packages off of the porches of two nearby residences.  Doria was charged with two counts of theft and the packages were ultimately returned to their rightful owners.

– On December 16, 2020, 26 year-old Luis Santana of Columbus, Ohio was taken into custody from the area of 57th Street and Avenue C after being observed by officers removing the dummy package from a porch of an area residence.  During the search incident to arrest, Santana was found to be in possession of two electric hair trimmers, later determined to be shoplifted from Rite-Aid (1097 Broadway) by Santana just prior to stealing the dummy package.  Santana was also found to be in possession of narcotic paraphernalia and a hypodermic syringe.  Santana was charged with theft, shoplifting, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, and possession of a hypodermic syringe.

So, if you are thinking of stealing a package in Bayonne, beware, you will be tracked and you will be caught.