Mail Thieves

[Mainsail]

Seems to happen a lot around Christmas, but other times as well.

I currently have a Dahua bullet camera in a hollow log, one of three hollow logs in a log pile, that captured video of the thieves.

Last week I missed the action by about 10 minutes, but called the Sheriff's Dept and they sent me to the non-emergency line. So I drove around until I found the guy and called them again. Someone must have been in the area because they trapped one or two down a dead-end subdivision, while I was tracking a third into a nearby apartment complex. I lost him in behind the buildings, but the deputies caught two. They even posted the body-cam footage of the take-down. The thieves were all riding electric scooters. They had over 140 pieces of mail on them.

This morning I was disappointed to see a car pull up at 4:40am and someone get out and hit the gang-box again. I think they have a master key.

Here's a screen-shot from the log pile camera. It lets me know something happened, but too dark to provide any details.



What I'd like to do is maybe try a trail-cam, something that can capture a license plate.

Yeah, I need it to be kinda low budget. I would need it hidden and battery powered. About 60 feet from the house, no power out there.

Also, I would love to hear any better ideas. I'm thinking of putting up a solar powered light on a pole near the box, thinking that more light will make the camera I have better able to see and pick up details.
View attachment MailTheftMP4.mp4

 

[mat200]

Seems to happen a lot around Christmas, but other times as well.

I currently have a Dahua bullet camera in a hollow log, one of three hollow logs in a log pile, that captured video of the thieves.

Last week I missed the action by about 10 minutes, but called the Sheriff's Dept and they sent me to the non-emergency line. So I drove around until I found the guy and called them again. Someone must have been in the area because they trapped one or two down a dead-end subdivision, while I was tracking a third into a nearby apartment complex. I lost him in behind the buildings, but the deputies caught two. They even posted the body-cam footage of the take-down. The thieves were all riding electric scooters. They had over 140 pieces of mail on them.

This morning I was disappointed to see a car pull up at 4:40am and someone get out and hit the gang-box again. I think they have a master key.

Here's a screen-shot from the log pile camera. It lets me know something happened, but too dark to provide any details.

View attachment 235513

What I'd like to do is maybe try a trail-cam, something that can capture a license plate.

Yeah, I need it to be kinda low budget. I would need it hidden and battery powered. About 60 feet from the house, no power out there.

Also, I would love to hear any better ideas. I'm thinking of putting up a solar powered light on a pole near the box, thinking that more light will make the camera I have better able to see and pick up details.
View attachment 235514

"About 60 feet from the house, no power out there."

If you own the property, I would consider running power and cat6 to the box ..

In the meanwhile, I would put 2 trail cameras on the boxes ..

 

[Mainsail]

"About 60 feet from the house, no power out there."

If you own the property, I would consider running power and cat6 to the box ..

In the meanwhile, I would put 2 trail cameras on the boxes ..

The gang-box is across a sidewalk, so I'd have to burrow under that to get power or Cat5 'at' the gang-box.

The tricky part is getting something out there that won't itself just get stolen. The log-pile camera is completely unnoticeable unless you were to actually wonder why there's a log pile located there...

Here's a full shot:



I'd love to set a camera right on top of the stop sign (about 10' to the right just out of view of the camera) but that would likely get stolen. I have trees in the area so maybe a game camera. Will a game camera be able to see the plate though, or will I just end up with more quasi-usable evidence like the above?

 

[mat200]

The gang-box is across a sidewalk, so I'd have to burrow under that to get power or Cat5 'at' the gang-box.

The tricky part is getting something out there that won't itself just get stolen. The log-pile camera is completely unnoticeable unless you were to actually wonder why there's a log pile located there...

Here's a full shot:

View attachment 235523

I'd love to set a camera right on top of the stop sign (about 10' to the right just out of view of the camera) but that would likely get stolen. I have trees in the area so maybe a game camera. Will a game camera be able to see the plate though, or will I just end up with more quasi-usable evidence like the above?

some have made custom boxes to hold cameras at the mailbox ..

Dig around for the few threads / posts on them .. some really solid talented folks here shared what they did.

Perhaps setting up something on this side of the sidewalk so you do not need to route under the sidewalk ?

maybe a light pole of some sort ?

 

[CCTVCam]

Can't you change the lock on your mailbox & give a key to the mail man?

 

[Mainsail]

Can't you change the lock on your mailbox & give a key to the mail man?

The gang-box has a front and a back. The front faces the street and has the main door which exposes all eight individual boxes. The back, on the sidewalk side, has the eight individual doors which are all keyed differently. When the postal worker drives up on the street side she uses a master key which opens the big door, removes outgoing mail and deposits in incoming mail, then she closes and locks it again.

The thieves appear to have the master key to the big door.

Other gang-boxes in the neighborhood, and all over town really, have different configurations. Some have a main door on the same side as the individual doors, some have parcel boxes built in; the common denominator is the postal access door uses a master key to allow the worker to feed the individual boxes with one opening.

 

[botics]

Throw a a/c capacitor on that mailbox.

 

[[email protected]]

Aren't you able to move the mailbox to your property, thus removing the sidewalk problem? Then install a discrete camera or two.

 

[Mainsail]

Aren't you able to move the mailbox to your property, thus removing the sidewalk problem? Then install a discrete camera or two.

It's an eight family gang-box, and it's on the easement to my property already. I can't move it.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

A little Sunday afternoon comedy. Takes Mark Rober's glitter and fart spray packages to a whole new level.

 

[CCTVCam]

Wow you have so many dishonest people in the US.

Laughable reactions to some of the smallest explosions where people are falling over laid out from what was just a blast of compressed air.

On the flip side, a few of those other explosions looked a little large. Surprised some people still had limbs. I guess they were firecrackers of some kind. Don't know what they were using for dust - flour & food dye? I guess you'd have to be very careful to use something non harmful to avoid lawsuits. Even then real risk of lawsuit or arrest if someone had asthma and suffered a bad reaction.

I love these but like the bike pranks, highly illegal & quite dangerous to the householders freedom / wallet these days unless you live in Texas.

EDIT: I take it back it looks staged. Unless I'm mistaken, I keep seeing the same people over and over again.

 

[IAmATeaf]

A little Sunday afternoon comedy. Takes Mark Rober's glitter and fart spray packages to a whole new level.

Some of those look like fake, one guys jumps before the box explodes and I’m sure there’s probably a way that those people could sue given the sue culture in the states?

 

[TonyR]

Some of those look like fake, one guys jumps before the box explodes and I’m sure there’s probably a way that those people could sue given the sue culture in the states?

THIS! ^^^^^

 

[TonyR]

Throw a a/c capacitor on that mailbox.

I also used to work on VASI (Variable Approach Slope Indicator) and REIL (Runway End Identifier Lights) and the rotatating beacon atop the towers at small municipal airports at one CA county for 12 years .

The REIL lights had a BIG xenon strobe light that would fire about 2 times per second so naturally it had a high voltage power supply to fire the big, bright tube. It was like a disco strobe or photographer's flash on steroids. You could hear the charge up squeal even a that rapid firing (2 PPS) from 60 feet away.

There was a normally closed door interlock switch that killled primary power when you opened the housing's door to work on it BUT there was a huge capacitor (like a 1,000 uF or so) in there that would store voltage for hours if you didn't bleed it down with a resistor or lamp. It would knock you into the next county....I guarantee you'd remember to discharge that cap NEXT time!

Of course, the old CRT TV's and monitors could also bite...and for the same reason.

 

[Looksee]

How about a spring loaded scissor extension arm with a lead weighted boxing glove at the end?

 

[misterfredsr]

Wondering if BI can detect someone walking up to the door and play a sound of a 12 gauge shotgun going "click" "click" how many porch pirates/jehovah witness will turn around and walk away.

 

[wittaj]

Wondering if BI can detect someone walking up to the door and play a sound of a 12 gauge shotgun going "click" "click" how many porch pirates/jehovah witness will turn around and walk away.

It sure can!

 

[CCTVCam]

Wondering if BI can detect someone walking up to the door and play a sound of a 12 gauge shotgun going "click" "click" how many porch pirates/jehovah witness will turn around and walk away.

I seem to remember somebody already did that. The only issue is when the parcel company won't deliver to your house because the Parcel guy hears you rack a gun as he approaches. Might work well as a late night deterrent, but probably not one for day time porch theif deterrent.