Decoy van trial across Knowsley to catch Christmas parcel thieves
Plain-clothed officers will be dressed as delivery drivers
Last updated 13th Dec 2023
Police in Knowsley are trialling the use of a decoy delivery van to try and catch opportunistic thieves in the run-up to Christmas.
The van is filled with dummy parcels which plain-clothed officers - acting as delivery drivers - are delivering around the area.
Knowsley Chief Inspector, Christopher Ruane, said:
"Merseyside Police is about putting the community first in everything we do. In Local Policing, that means having a real empathy with the people who live and work in Knowsley. That’s how this operation came about: my team thinking about what impact this is going to have on people.
"The old saying that prevention is better than cure is right when it comes to policing. Even if we manage to return someone’s stolen goods to them, they’ve still had to go through the distress of the initial theft, the anxiety of not knowing whether they’ll get those goods returned to them, the worry of what to do if they can’t afford to have those things replaced. It’s much better for people if we can disrupt the activity before it happens.
"It’s because of prevention initiatives like these that the force has seen reductions in key crimes this year. Knowsley has experienced a 20% reduction in robberies, which for business premises is a reduction of 45%. There’s been an 8% reduction in burglaries, a 33% reduction in theft from people, a 13% reduction in shop theft, and overall crime has reduced by 11%.
"Those statistics are no comfort though for the person that it does happen to. It’s always upsetting to have something stolen – but before Christmas, when maybe it’s the kids’ presents that have been taken… it’s not acceptable. We’re not resting on our laurels – we’re prepared to keep trying new strategies – to keep evolving.
"We have to. The market for stolen goods is evolving. It used to be that things would just get sold down the pub – which is relatively straightforward to disrupt. Online selling has changed that - whether it’s a local social media buy and swap page or a company that specialises in selling second-hand things online. These parcels might have been stolen in Knowsley, but they can end up all over the country. When someone is selling something ‘new with tags’ for a great price, maybe we all need to start thinking about why."
Merseyside Police are advising people to nominate a safe space for items, divert packages to a family member or trusted neighbour, and use parcel lockers for high-value items.
The force also wants anyone with information about stolen goods being sold to report it here, DM @MerpolCC, call 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.