‘Tis the season for porch pirates and burglaries, police shares holiday safety tips

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - While many South Georgians hit the stores in person for Black Friday, others may have preferred to get their shopping on from the comfort of their home.

With more online shopping comes packages being delivered to your doorsteps, making it a time to watch out for porch pirates.

Valdosta Police Department encourages residents to invest in security cameras.

Although they can’t prevent the crime, it will help during investigations.

When ordering something online, sign up for delivery alerts, so you can immediately grab the package.

If you won’t be home, tell a neighbor or friend to get it for you.

Another problem police see during the holiday season is burglaries.

”We get burglaries, unfortunately, they do occur all the time but a lot of what we see mainly is especially around the college, we get people the college students get some gifts and then go away for two weeks to be home with their parents and unfortunately they left something out and people will break into their apartments,” said Chief Leslie Manahan.

Police recommend not putting boxes of opened items out on the street.

People driving by will know what you have inside the home, giving crooks ideas and making your home a target.

Take boxes to a recycling location or dumpster.