EVERETT, Wash. — The next delivery driver you see in Everett might actually be an undercover officer.
Throughout the holidays, the department will place decoy packages on porches and set up stakeouts for thieves.
"They just come from the shadows and appear on your porch and brazenly take a package or two," said an undercover detective.
Police see a significant increase in package thefts in the weeks after Thanksgiving, so they're spreading out across the city.
Catching the thieves is proving elusive, the department said.
"It's really the luck of the draw," said the detective. "The timing has to be perfect."
No arrests have yet been made.
To improve their odds, police are also following delivery drivers and watching to make sure the proper people pick up their packages.
"The volume of trucks we see in these residential areas...there are so many," the detective said. "It's really an easy target."
Last year alone, nearly 26 million Americans reported having at least one holiday package stolen.
And as long as that continues, police will be doing their best to stop it.
"It's not gonna go away," lamented the detective. "This is only gonna get more intense, and we're gonna have to figure out good ways to combat it."
In Renton, police are also using bait packages with tracking devices in them to try and catch porch pirates.
In Spokane, officers are tailing delivery trucks to catch thieves.