HOUSTON – The holidays are also known as the season of giving -- or in this case, the season of taking.
No one loves this time of year more than porch pirates. They can strike any time in any neighborhood.
A suspected thief was recently arrested in the Heights, on the 700 block of East 8th Street.
"You have to make a plan, because our crooks are making a plan," Alan Rosen said.
Rosen is the Harris County Precinct 1 constable.
If you live in a neighborhood his deputies protect, they’ll be there -- but you won’t know who they are.
From now through Christmas they’ll be staked out in neighborhoods where package thefts are historically high.
"Our crooks won’t know we are there either. We have undercover vehicles. We have a lot of different mechanisms. We have cameras. We have a lot of stuff we use when we do one of these initiatives," Rosen said.
Rosen said people are getting smarter about the way they have their packages delivered.
While surveillance cameras aren’t necessarily a deterrent, they’re extremely helpful to law enforcement. They’re often able to crack cases when they have video of the person stealing the package.
"It helps solidify the criminal case against the individual. We love video evidence as does the District Attorney’s office because it helps solidify the case and make it much stronger," Rosen said.
To keep your packages out of the hands of thieves you should consider having them delivered to work as opposed to to your home. Think about having them sent to a neighbor's house or to someone who is home all the time. Restricted delivery is always an option, too.