Amazon and other courier package thefts are growing causes of concern for the authorities in the US. The parcels that are ordered online keep on disappearing from the doorsteps of people who receive them, but a disturbing trend shows that they are also being stolen along the way. In light of the constant rise in train cargo container thefts, CBS photographer John Schreiber visited the Lincoln Heights area in Los Angeles to personally witness the threat firsthand. Located in the heart of Los Angeles is Lincoln heights, where train tracks converge on a Union Pacific (UP) terminal and a United States Services (UPS) customer centre where trains unload their cargo.
Schreiber explained in videos that have been viewed over 2 Million times on Twitter that one in five of the containers he saw on the tracks had been looted, with their doors open and locks cut. ‘I see looted packages all around,’ he wrote. Packages from many large US courier companies such as Amazon, Target, UPS and FedEx were found by him. The thieves wait until the long freight trains slow down before they climb onto the freight containers, whose locks they can easily break with bolt cutters.
As you can see, trains frequently slow or stop in this area as they get worked into the @UnionPacific Intermodal facility near Downtown LA. The thieves use this opportunity to break open containers and take what’s inside. I’d say every 4th or 5th rail car had opened containers. pic.twitter.com/PHpujyB84M
— John Schreiber (@johnschreiber) January 13, 2022
Foraging the boogies, they take away the valuable items destined to reach various parts of the country, leaving behind non-essential items that are too cheap or too hard to resell, such as medical kits and toiletries. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of the UP agents to police the track and inform the LA police of any theft. UP, however, has not notified the police of any thefts so far. Since these thefts have continued for quite some time, people are wondering how Amazon and other mail services plan on ensuring that packages ordered through various portals will arrive safely.
Union Pacific says it has strengthened its surveillance measures and recruited more security personnel for its tracks and convoys to combat these threats. In the last three months of 2021, LAPD and security agents have also stepped up the restrictions and arrested more than 100 people for ‘trespassing and vandalizing’ Union Pacific trains. According to an AFP report, while criminals are being caught and arrested, their charges are usually reduced to misdemeanors or petty offenses, and they’re back on the streets within 24 hours after paying a nominal fine.
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