A COMMUNITY IN Utah has started placing decoy packages on front porches in an effort to thwart Christmas delivery thieves.

Rocks, old clothes and broken televisions are among items that Kroger Menzer said residents in the Daybreak neighbourhood of South Jordan have been putting in shipping boxes. People are also using surveillance video.

“The goal isn’t to catch them in the act, that’s for the police,” Menzer told KSL-TV.

The goal is to make it confusing and frustrating. So they come and steal a box, and they get home and it’s a bunch of rocks. There’s a good chance that they’re probably not going to come back to steal another box.

Menzer said one of his neighbours came up with the idea and posted it to the Daybreak community Facebook page.

“This is a very tight-knit community,” Menzer, a real estate agent, said.

Even though there are 4,000 homes and 15,000 people living here, we all get to know each other pretty well.

Lt John Barker, of the Unified Police Department, said it can take just seconds for a thief to jump out of a car, grab a package and run.

He said police don’t want residents putting themselves in danger by confronting thieves. They recommend using surveillance video instead.

“If it’s a good system, they can get some very good pictures,” Barker said. “If you can get the car, and especially the licence plate, that’s very helpful in tracking these individuals down.”

Barker also recommended picking up packages at delivery service locations.

Read: Gardaí go hi-tech to combat Christmas tree thieves

Read: 30 wonderfully Irish Christmas pressies for under €30