front there and goes ahead. wow. takes the package. it s something that s happening all across the country, some of it caught on camera. are you seeing more packages being stolen this year? absolutely. i think it s becoming quite the epidemic. one survey found 23 million americans have had a package stolen. and this holiday season may be the biggest heist yet with more than a billion packages being delivered as more people do their shopping online. that one, as well. we re going to be running two teams, make sure everybody is vested up. this police unit is trying to catch package thieves in the act. flat-screen tv. we have what s made to look like a blu-ray player over here. someone trying to steal this will be disappointed when they open it up. absolutely. nothing in here. as you see someone trying to steal this, you ll jump out and arrest them? correct.
all too easy for thieves to snatch up these packages. this is a prime example of how easy it is to commit one of these thefts. the package is clearly visible from the road on a high-traveled street. so far his department has recovered more than 100 items this season, they hope to return to the rightful owners. we ve got a blend centre. we got blenders, makeup, sneakers. we have some higher-end items. packages have been returned, but a lot of people are still missing their gifts. we all have families and we want to put smiles on our children s faces christmas morning and just to find out that you know the individuals stole packages really, you know, it s heartbreaking. now the police didn t catch any package thieves, but we did talk to some of the biggest shippers around the country and they say if you have a packable stolen to get in touch with them and file a police report. pam this is a big issue and it s
the package. reporter: it s something that s happening all across the country. some of it caught on camera. are you seeing more packages being stolen this year? absolutely. i think it s i mean quite the epidemic. reporter: one survey found 23 million americans have had a package stolen. in this holiday season, maybe the biggest heist yet with more than a billion packages being delivered as more people do their shopping online. that one as well. we re going to be running two teams. make sure everybody is vested up. reporter: this police unit is trying to catch package thieves in the act. you ve got a flat screen tv. someone trying to steal this would be pretty disappointed when they open it up. as you see someone trying to steal this, you ll jump out and arrest them? correct.
are you seeing more packages being stolen this year? absolutely. i think it s becoming quite the epidemic. reporter: one survey found 23 million americans have had a package stolen. in this holiday season, maybe the biggest heist yet, with more than 1 billion packages being delivered as more people do their shopping online. that one as well. we re going to be running two teams, make sure everybody is vested up. reporter: this police unit is trying to catch package thieves in the act. you have a flat screen tv? what s made to look like a blue ray player. someone trying to steal this, they ll be pretty disappointed. absolutely. there s nothing in here. as you see someone trying to steal this, you ll jump out and arrest them? correct. we have two surveillance teams on packages that are placed at people s doorsteps. the chances of one of them being stolen is possible. reporter: lieutenant reiner says it s too easy for thieves
you re going to be looking at highs in the mid to upper 60s down to a high of only 43 on christmas day. no reindeer in the graphics package. i m disappointed. no reindeer. where was it? all right. allison, thanks so much. thanks. all right, well, holidays also mean exchanging gifts, and with more and more people shopping online, the gifts are often left on people s doorsteps, making them easy targets for thieves. let s bring in cnn digital correspondent dan lieberman. dan, what are police doing to make sure that people aren t stealing other people s christmas or holiday? hey there, guys, it s happening all across the country. package thieves are snatching up people s holiday gifts, so in the days leading up to christmas, i spent time with one police department that s using a clever tactic to try and stop the grinch. as you can see, he s thinking about it, thinking about it, then he walks right up to the