As the holidays approach, the Belleville Police Department would like to warn residents of “Porch Pirates” active in the village. Recently, the police department has taken two reports of items taken from in front of homes. The latest report indicated that the package was taken within minutes after being delivered.

To protect yourself and your online shopping orders, the police department recommends the following: Have your packages held at your local carrier facility for pickup; Take advantage of “Ship To Store” for curbside pickup or Amazon’s “Locker” feature; Request that your package has a signature confirmation upon delivery; Ask your carrier to place packages in an area out of plain view; Have packages delivered to your work; Schedule delivery for times you will be home; Have packages delivered to a neighbor who is home; Monitor your front porch (Xfinity Home, Ring doorbell, Nest and others).

If you see anything suspicious in your neighborhood, please call (608) 424-3129 to report it to us.