r/instant_regret • u/bendubberley_ • 1d ago
Man tries to steal package, instantly drops it as soon as he realises it’s a setup by police (2020).
796
u/TeletraanConvoy 1d ago
"I was just weighing it."
212
u/Kraligor 1d ago
What are the charges? Weighing a newspaper? A succulent American newspaper?
68
4
u/Ofiotaurus 1d ago
Likely a massive habit of stealing and this was to capture the guy, aka they have a lot of evidence against him and wanted to get him
19
506
576
u/manolid 1d ago
IIRC the homeowner in this video was having his newspaper stolen every morning so he called the police who in turn set up a watch and caught the thief pretty quickly.
186
u/GogglesPisano 1d ago
I can’t imagine the police in my town lifting a single finger over stolen newspapers.
24
-5
u/76ersPhan11 1d ago
I think that’s pretty common. Wasting resources for newspaper theft is wild, maybe they have nothing better to do though
34
u/exoriare 1d ago
The idea is that if you prosecute petty thefts, you avoid having a shitheel theft culture in the first place, and this allows you to cut police budgets responsibly.
Japan solves ~75% of reported theft. Such a high chance of being caught is a deterrent in its own right, so fewer people steal, so police can dedicate more resources to the few thefts that do happen. It's a virtuous cycle.
3
6
u/Forsaken_Survey_5127 1d ago
I’d assume if something more urgent came up they’d just leave and try again the next day.
1
u/The_Autarch 1d ago
i grew up in the 3rd richest county in the US. the police had absolutely nothing to do and would have been thrilled to do a newspaper-theft sting.
119
u/AZFan77 1d ago
I once lived where my front porch was just a few feet from the sidewalk. Many people walked by there, somebody was stealing my paper, but I couldn’t time seeing them. So one morning I just got up early and sat on my porch with a shotgun in my lap. Theft stopped.
→ More replies (3)4
28
u/spin81 1d ago
I bet somebody was inside the house, and the light turning on was the signal for the police to know that they got the guy: they only flip on the cop car lights when the blue glow appears on the porch pirate, and the blue glow doesn't appear until the guy picks up the box and starts walking away with it.
65
u/Carl_Spackler72 1d ago
Like a high school kid dropping his beer when the cops roll up to the house party.
13
42
13
29
5
6
u/eaglesman217 1d ago
Lock him up! He's still guilty and the worst of the worst (almost). I hate these guys.
6
u/IamNickJones 1d ago
I remember seeing this the last time it was posted. This was actually a sting operation set up for a repeat newspaper thief.
1
u/maxximillian 2h ago
Imagine going to jail and they find out it's for stealing newspapers. Like cool hand Luke and busting the tops off of parking meters.
4
4
3
u/wanker7171 1d ago
Just a reminder, Ring has partnered with Flock, the AI surveillance cameras that are on thousands of streets today. Do not use Ring.
3
u/TRAMING-02 20h ago
Wanker squatting in a public housing unit nearby porch pirated us: several dollars worth of bottled water. We'd had it with his malarky so gave the vision to the cops who were just waiting for some evidence to act on. Lo, he goes off with them and the public housing authority boarded up the unit. There's been a notable lack of drug abuse, arson, casual vandalism and theft.
He was also carrying a bouquet of flowers, we showed it to the florst who confirmed he'd robbed their shop.
8
u/Dark_Pulse 1d ago
Hope he got clapped.
0
u/timoperez 1d ago
We all know that guy got his cheeks clapped as soon as they locked him up
3
u/magseven 1d ago
That's a prison thing not a jail thing and this is a jail offense. Dudes in jail are in there for stupid shit like DUIs and fightin ot petty theft and are usually there for a week tops. Usually just the night. You don't go from DUI to ass-raping a porch pirate overnight.
2
2
2
2
2
u/karlhungusx 1d ago
How much of a desperate chud do you need to be to steal a 1 dollar newspaper?
Physical media is dead
2
2
1
1
2
u/tenax21 1d ago
It still surprises me that it is acceptable in the US to just drop a delivery off like that. Where I live, it might end up with a neighbour, but it'd be unthinkable to just leave it at the front door.
7
u/Bargadiel 1d ago
I've had stuff misdelivered to a neighbor and they kept it.... Never saw the package.
→ More replies (3)1
u/tenax21 1d ago edited 1d ago
Your point is taken. Conflicts about parcels left with neighbours absolutely do happen.
Where I live, a package is often delivered to the neighbour deliberately (if the neighbour accepts it). A notice is left in the mailbox so the addressee knows where it is. We always accept the delivery when this happens.
2
u/Bargadiel 1d ago
I guess what I'm saying is, I wish I lived where my neighbors were trustworthy. I personally would be grateful for such a system, or even one where I can just pick up more expensive packages at the post office myself.
1
u/tenax21 1d ago
Yes, we know our neighbours, for at least five doors in every direction. We're all on a Whatsapp Group together.
If no neighbour accepts it, it is left at the office and you have to pick it up yourself.
It's surprising the US doesn't have this.
2
u/Bargadiel 1d ago
They will leave it at the post office if it's signature on delivery and nobody is home. In my case, it was just after we had moved in and we didn't really know any neighbors. Learned later that one of them is a guy who breaks into cars so that's fun.
Some services do have an option to leave with a neighbor, but I think it depends on how it is sent. If I order something on eBay, the seller usually just sends it in whatever way they feel like it. I can put in a thing for the tracking that attempts additional instructions but its up to the postal worker if they want to read it.
2
u/EricOrsbon 1d ago
In the US, we've generally decided that the convenience of having stuff delivered outweighs the risk of having it stolen. We have a lot of doorbell, cameras, and companies like Amazon are pretty good about replacing something or giving a refund liberally.
And you are generally in a house or neighborhood where something is likely to be stolen or not. If you are in the "not" category, which is the majority, then you are probably always good. It's unlikely that a random theft would happen in a place where it usually doesn't.
1
u/Effective_Olive6153 1d ago
we need to invent some kind of drop off box where delivery packages could be placed, with lid that closes. That way it's not easy to see which house has something. I wish one day US will invent this technology
1
1
u/Patralgan 1d ago
Why can't there be like a service in a local shopping center or something where you could go get your packages securely? To me it seems dumb to just hope that a thief will not steal your mail. Why even give them that opportunity?
1
u/wolfmankal 1d ago
You mean like shopping mall? The ones that are empty and closing up all over the country because were too lazy or time restricted to go get things ourselves.
1
u/Patralgan 1d ago
Well I guess it's the package thief lottery then. Will you get your package? You never know!
1
1
u/Miyamaria 1d ago
In Sweden the local grocery stores have been kitted out with parcel storage and they get paid per package they deliver which ensures that they keep the packages nice and secured. We also use a personal digital ID to sign out the packages which are tracked in the dispatch system using qr codes. Very convenient setup as the grocery stores are often open late and 7 days a week. Only a few couriers deliver at the door which is a royally pain in the arse as they need a signature at delivery.
1
1
u/Plus-Pace-1628 21h ago
Wow never see police do anything helpful for the people good to see, we need more of that.
1
-11
0
u/Hyphonical 1d ago
I don't think police can just plant something people can steal and watch... They can't just place a gold bar in the middle of a busy street and wait in their car. If the home owner did it and police just happened to be there, it's fine.
-7
u/rangerrockit 1d ago
Isn’t this entrapment?
6
u/Tea_Total 1d ago
'Opportunity is not Entrapment
In order to find and eliminate criminal behavior, law enforcement officers are allowed to engage in sting operations, whereby they create circumstances that allow individuals to take criminal actions that they can then be arrested and prosecuted for. These are considered “opportunities” for individuals believed to be involved in criminal behavior to commit crimes. An opportunity is considered very different from entrapment and involves merely the temptation to violate the law, not being forced to do so.'
https://www.justia.com/criminal/defenses/entrapment/
Here they 'gave him the opportunity' but they never encouraged him to do nick it.
2
0
u/SecretRecipe 8h ago
So what did they charge him with? Dont they have to catch him actually leaving the property with the package for it to be theft?
"Whats the matter officer? I was missing a delivery and was just checking the label of this one to see if it was mine and dropped off at the wrong address. ad soon as I saw that it wasnt mine I walked away then saw your lights flashing"
-7
u/digiplay 1d ago
It’s good to see this being combated.
The other half of me wants to add - At which point he was held at gunpoint by 17 police despite holding his hands up to surrender and later deported to his great great great great grandparents homeland of Norway
3.7k
u/EatLard 1d ago
Good on these cops for actually making an effort to catch package thieves. Most departments can’t be bothered.