Merseyside Police's decoy deliveries 'will target parcel thieves'

Officers disguised as delivery drivers are to be deployed in a decoy van in a bid to prevent parcel thefts, a force has said.

Merseyside Police said it was trialling the use of the van in Knowsley in the run-up to Christmas.

It said the vehicle would be filled with dummy parcels and officers would pretend to deliver around the borough.

Ch Insp Christopher Ruane said the aim was to disrupt the criminals and stop the thefts before they happen.

"The old saying that prevention is better than cure is right when it comes to policing," he said.

"It's because of prevention initiatives like these that the force has seen reductions in key crimes this year."

He said the market for stolen goods was evolving, which meant the police had to use different techniques to stop it.

"It used to be that things would just get sold down the pub, which is relatively straightforward to disrupt," he said.

"Online selling has changed that, whether it's a local social media buy and swap page or a company that specialises in selling second-hand things online.

"These parcels might have been stolen in Knowsley, but they can end up all over the country."

He added that the public also needed to consider what they were buying.

"When someone is selling something 'new with tags' for a great price, maybe we all need to start thinking about why," he said.

A force representative said people also needed to follow some general rules in relation to deliveries, which included nominating a safe place that will accommodate even large items, diverting packages to a family member or a trusted neighbour where possible, and using parcel lockers for high-value items.

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