Hamilton looks for 'porch pirate' package thief

HAMILTON (Mercer) — A bicycle-riding suspect is the latest "porch pirate" whose image was captured taking freshly delivered packages.

A man in Hamilton has stolen packages from the South Broad Street and Lalor Street area an undisclosed number of times over the past several weeks, making his getaway on a red bicycle, according to Hamilton Police. He puts the packages into a blue bag.

The suspect is described by police as a white or Hispanic male standing approximately 5'8" with dark hair and a mustache/goatee. He has been seen wearing blue jeans, a dark jacket, backpack, and brown work boots.

Hamilton Police asked anyone with information about this suspect to call them at 609-581-4027.

The increase in holiday shopping online has led to an increase in the theft of packages from homes. Jersey City police partnered with Amazon to install doorbell cameras and plant dummy boxes at homes around the city to catch thieves in the act, or as they make their getaway. The company provided the equipment to the city free of charge.

"Most of the package thefts we've made arrests on revolve around CCTV or private surveillance cameras that give us a still image," Jersey City police chief Michael Kelly said. "With the bait packages, some will be under video surveillance, and some will have GPS."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.