Northville police launch "Operation Max's Vault" to combat porch pirates during holidays
NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – The Northville Township Police Department is rolling out a service that aims to thwart porch pirates just in time for the holidays.
"It's easy pickings, but I do think people are getting smarter with the Ring cameras on their front doors," said Kathleen Keady, a Northville Township resident. "It's getting harder to pull these things off. But these people try to find their ways around it."
Porch pirates in Oakland, Washtenaw, and Western Wayne counties struck at least 83 times last November and December, according to the Northville Township Police Department.
"It's a burden on that resident because now they have to go through the process of getting another package during the course of the holidays, which we know can be a very tough time of the year," said Officer Andrew Domzalski, the community service officer for Northville Township.
This year, besides having twice the number of patrols, anyone who lives within the Township's limits can have their packages delivered to the police department instead of their home address.
"For a period of five days, we'll hold on to those packages and what the proper identification they can come up and pick those packages up here directly at the police department," Domzalski said.
They're dubbing the 24/7 service "Operation Max's Vault" in honor of the department's support dog.
"For anyone who has a big concern, it's nice to know that that would be available. And it's nice that the Northville [Township] police are willing to do that for us," Keady said.
The packages themselves must weigh less than 50 pounds. They can't contain any hazardous materials, flammable liquids, anything illegal, no live animals, and no weapons or ammo.
It's a free service that begins on Wednesday and ends on New Year's Day.
"It's just taken away one more opportunity from a criminal to, you know, essentially be a porch pirate and steal that package," Domzalski said.
To ship a package, use the following addressee format:
[Recipient Name]
c/o Max's Vault
41600 Six Mile Road
Northville, MI 48168
