My Ballard reader Ryan emailed in to let us know that a package thief is once again on the loose in our neighborhood. As many readers will remember, our neighborhood was hit hard by package theives around the holiday season last year.
Last night, Ryan captured footage on his home security system of a woman stealing a package from the front porch of his home on the corner of NW 75th St and Dibble Ave NW. Reportedly the woman has waist-length hair and was driving a green early 90s Subaru Legacy. Ryan has reported the incident to the SPD.
With the potential for an increase in package theft in mind, it is important to be on the lookout for others in the community. When ordering online attempt to send the packages to your work location or to somewhere where people will be present to receive the package.
Alternatively, if you are ordering from Amazon they offer a secure Amazon Locker service where packages can be picked up from lockers at various locations around Seattle including at the Ballard 7 Eleven (1550 NW Market St). The service has no extra charge and provides additional security for your packages.
If you have experienced package theft at your home in Ballard let us know at tips@myballard.com.
Receiving packages at your employer is a great idea…if only mine allowed it. Risky or expensive are my options.
my neighbor on 23rd NW and 70th NW lost a package a couple of weeks ago.
Renting a mailbox at SipNShip, Ballard Mailbox, UPS Store, or similar isn’t that expensive, and automatically takes care of issues like package theft, vacation stops, etc.
Owning a gun is even more effective.
@Sam True, it helps people like you remove themselves from the gene pool!
Why do people bother putting up cameras to catch the thief in action?
This has probably never lead to an arrest or conviction, especially for so petty a crime the police would doubtfully investigate it.
It seems like watching someone take your stuff over and over again would just rub salt in the wound.
Last fall, I taped a nondescript note to the window next to my front door that asked delivery drivers to please place any packages off to the side on my porch out of sight from the sidewalk. Surprisingly, every package delivered since then has been placed where I asked, except from USPS. They can’t take that extra step, I guess. I know this isn’t an option for some homes, but it has helped me feel better about packages at our house.
Post the surveillance photos. It helps in catching them. Where’s Ryans photo
We had a package disappear last Friday at 9th NW and NW 75th – bet it was the same person based on proximity.
We had an Amazon package stolen on Wednesday at 63rd St and 20th Ave. It’s the first time we’ve experienced a package theft. I’m thinking of installing a gate so our front door isn’t visible from the sidewalk. Hopefully, that will deter thieves.
We’ve been home when someone checked some (empty) boxes on our porch to see if they were deliveries. The person made a tiny knock on the door first. We think this was to provide an excuse out if caught: “Oh, I tried knocking…”
8000 block of 11th Ave NW has seen 2 stolen packages since the start of the year. January 27, I witnessed a woman with long hair driving what looked to be a 90s era green Chevy blazer or similar take a UPS package from a neighbor. April 16, we had a larger UPS package stolen, no known witnesses.
Just had a package stolen 5/2 from my doorstep on 24th and 75th – looks like these jerks are moving westward. Eyes and ears, friends!
I also just had an amazon package stolen at 14th and NW 63rd st. (Technically theWest WoodLawn neighborhood). Specifically, the thief opened the box, took the contents, then loosely reclosed the box and left it on the porch. This happened sometime in the afternoon/early evening, prior to 8 pm.