Hamilton police lay 56 charges and arrest 3 people after hunt for porch pirates

Hamilton police laid 56 charges and made three arrests after launching Operation Ama-gone and hunting down porch pirates.

Officers also seized a vehicle and executed a search warrant.

The project, which started in December, came as locals complained about packages being stolen.

Some Hamiltonians have gone to great lengths to deter thieves, including filling up boxes with cat litter.

Const. Krista-Lee Ernst previously said she doesn't recommend vigilante justice, even if it gets praise on social media.

"In order for Hamilton police to have the statistics and the report on file, we need those reports to still be reported to us," she said.

A lot of package thefts go unreported, Ernst said, because of the built-in theft protocols from companies like Amazon.

She said the suspects are usually repeat offenders.

Here are some ways Ernst said that people can avoid package theft:

• Having your package delivered to your work.
• Arranging deliveries to relatives or friends you know will be home.
• Having the local post office hold your package.
• Having your package shipped to a store.
• Request a signature confirmation when your package arrives.
• Ask carriers to place packages out of plain sight.