Florida law enforcement warn against leaving gift boxes in front of your house
Photograph of a heap of compressed cardboard moving boxes following a domestic house move in Lafayette, California, December 3, 2020. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Florida law enforcement is warning people this holiday season to not place any gift or merchandise boxes in front of their homes as it could make them a target to criminals.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office posted a video of how you should toss your boxes after Christmas.
The agency has started a ‘Burglar Box’ program, which helps promote crime prevention against residential burglaries.
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"It allows you to actually find a way to get rid of boxes that otherwise would end up in front of your houses," Orange County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Hiram Bustamante said in the video.
There are burglar boxes located throughout Orange County.
If you cannot make it out to a Burglar Box, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office advises that you break down any cardboard boxes of gifts that you received and place them in a black bag or break down the cardboard boxes and put them in your recycling bins.
Several cities in Florida are offering programs like the one in Orange County.
For example, the Bunnell Police Department announced earlier in December that they also have Burglar Boxes for residents to place their merchandise and gift boxes in.
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"Placing merchandise and gift boxes and cardboard boxes in front of your house may be sending an unintentional and unwanted signal to any would-be thief," the police department wrote in a news release. "You could be telling any ‘Grinches’ the very item they are shopping for is inside your home."
The agency said that their Burglar Box is located on S. Pine St. in the parking spaces behind the Coquina City Hall, which is located at 200 S. Church St. The free service will be available through Jan. 4, 2022.
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