A wave of parcel burglaries is being reported from city centre apartment blocks — prompting residents, councillors, and the police to call on buildings to beef up their security measures.
Residents have previously reported opportunistic thieves taking their newly delivered items across the city centre and in parts of Salford . However, now there are growing calls for developers to install extra protection — as the police officially record the incidents as the more serious crime of burglary.
Whereas theft is an unlawful taking of someone’s belongings, burglary involves force or illegally entering someone’s property to take the item. Under Operation Castle, Greater Manchester Police are committed to investigate every burglary within 48 hours — but the Manchester Evening News understands the force feels there is only so much they can do until building managers invest in more security.
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Numerous residents told the MEN that they had been affected by the issue, which is thought to be endemic across the city centre. Some say parcels are stolen ‘within minutes’ of being left, while others say high-value items went missing during a spike in the criminal activity around Christmas.
What most of the incidents have in common is that parcels can be left in easily-accessible communal areas, like a stairwell, and ‘opportunistic thieves’ can tailgate a resident or force a door open to take off with their cardboard bounty. People living in other buildings, which either have a secure post room, concierge, or locker system say the issue is not as prevalent.
One of those residents is Chris Northwood, who lives in New Islington. She said: “The building I’m in has a 24-hour concierge. We have a post room with someone there, so we do not have issues.
“The way [delivery firms] I think do it is to say that the building is one drop. There are 400 flats here so the driver just wants to drop them off at one. The incentive is to drop everything and if they are in a building that has not been given much thought on how it’s laid out, people can see [where parcels will be left].”
Chris also volunteers for the city centre Liberal Democrat group, and works closely with Coun Alan Good. She added that Coun Good was pressing building managers to take action: “We put pressure on them to fix the door. If you want to tackle the root cause it’s very complicated. Looking at it on a building-by-building basis, we are working with them. GMP says it is not just one gang.”
Coun Irene Robinson, who like Coun Good represents the same ward of Ancoats and Beswick for Labour, agreed that more work should be done by building managers to beef up protection. She explained: “It’s about speaking to building managers and making residents aware. It’s about having that community feel as well, you see residents taking parcels up to the fourth floor rather than leaving it easily accessible.
“It’s incredibly frustrating when we have parcels left in spots that are easy to steal from. It’s particularly frustrating when people work from home and there isn’t a parcel room. It’s something you need to have residents on board with — Facebook groups are good for saying that people are hanging around with their shouldn’t be. It’s done by the community but that shouldn’t be.”
Coun Robinson said that the problem also comes down to a ‘workers rights issue’. She added: “It also leads to a labour issue in that delivery drivers are not paid enough to ensure they are dropped off properly. We need a more robust strategy in terms of how delivery drivers are properly delivering and paid. It’s an opportunistic theft issue but it’s also a workers' rights issue.”
On the ground, one solution that has been implemented in a Castlefield block that’s popular with residents is the installation of a locker system. Tenant Ashley Smith said there have not been ‘any thefts’ since it was brought in.
He explained: “The courier will come and put the parcels in a locker. They shut it and then I would get an email advising my that I have received a parcel with a code. I put that code in and it opens.”
And the police believe more measures like this are necessary, the MEN understands. Until those issues are remedied, however, Sergeant Alex Vernon, from GMP’s City of Manchester division, has pledged to deliver an 'outstanding service' to residents - including thorough investigations of the burglaries. He said: “We’re aware of a number of reports of stolen parcels, particularly from city centre apartment blocks.
“We know that these crimes are particularly upsetting for residents who are ordering parcels and we will always investigate any reports of stolen parcels, exhausting all lines of enquiry including extensive CCTV trawls. We have been in regular contact with those who operate and own the residential blocks that are largely rented, and recommended a number of security measures such as making sure storage where parcels are kept are in a secure, locked area.
“We are committed to delivering outstanding service to our communities, and rightly this includes all our efforts to keep both them and their property safe whilst providing support for those who have been unfortunately targeted. We will continue to take action against those who we believe are responsible and would ask anyone with information reports it to us by reporting online at www.gmp.police.uk, or by calling 101.”
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