The holidays are almost here, but don't forget there are plenty of Grinches roaming around.
That's the message from Vancouver police after three parcel thefts were caught on camera in a single day in different parts of the city.
One took place outside Kim Law's home in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood, where a UPS driver dropped off a large package at around 1:10 p.m.
Less than 10 minutes later, surveillance video captured a man in a brown coat parking a pickup truck in front of the house, walking up to the porch and snatching the parcel.
Law said the delivery was a Christmas present for his son. He told CTV News he's happy nobody was hurt and that their home wasn't damaged, but the incident was still disappointing to see so close to the holidays.
"My son knew that somebody stole something from us. It put a bit of a damper on the Christmas spirit," Law said.
"I had to reassure him that this doesn't happen very often, and there are some not-so-nice people in this world but the vast majority of us are nice and honest."
Another surveillance video recorded at a home in Killarney shows a man in sandals and a ball cap casually opening the front gate, walking toward the house and then leaving with a package.
The third incident was captured about 15 blocks away in Victoria-Fraserview, where a man with a dog approached a home, checked the mailbox and then picked up a large parcel that had been delivered to the front door.
Vancouver police confirmed they're investigating all three incidents. Sgt. Jason Robillard said there's been a spike in mail thefts in the city, which is not uncommon at this time of year – but there are some things people can do to make it more difficult for thieves.
Robillard recommended having packages shipped somewhere safe, such as a workplace or the home of a trusted neighbour who will be there when it arrives.
People can also customize their delivery to require a signature from the recipient.
"These are all preventable crimes," Robillard said. "But sometimes our lives get busy and we don't take the extra, very minor steps to make it harder for a thief."
With files from CTV Vancouver's Angela Jung
