As couriers opted for leaving parcels on the ground floor, there have been numerous incidents of perpetrators gaining entry to campus buildings and leaving with packages, according to witnesses.
Uilenstede resident Eleni says package theft became more frequent around September, when couriers began leaving parcels on the ground floor, instead of bringing them up directly to the recipient’s apartment. Intruders would then enter the campus buildings by following closely behind residents going through the front door. Job Grootenboer, also a resident, says that the issue became prevalent between Sinterklaas and New Years, as people would “buy more expensive gifts”, tempting the thieves.
Meanwhile, the police were not aware of the issue until mid-January, according to Christian Phylipsen, a neighbourhood police officer at Uilenstede. He explains that no reports of the issue were filed before this date, and says that “when people don’t report anything, we think there is no problem.” He believes victims have little incentive to file police reports, as the company they purchased from often reimburses their loss.
Caught red-handed
On January 12, the first report regarding package theft at Uilenstede was filed with police by a resident, who prefers to remain anonymous. “I was told through our flat’s group chat that boys were stealing packages. No one called the police, so that’s when I did”, they say, adding that the police “immediately came to Uilenstede and started looking for the boys.” The offenders supposedly left the scene by tram, and the police ceased their efforts to locate the suspects after an hour. Police officer Phylipsen confirms that police did not apprehend any suspects on that day, nor on any other occasion.
On the same day, Mija Eijskoot, another campus resident, was walking home late afternoon when she witnessed a police motorcycle chasing a teenager who was “around sixteen years old”, near campus theatre De Landing. Eijskoot also claims that the lock on the front door of building 500 was broken that day, allowing intruders to enter freely. Around that time, a video was circulating in one of the residents’ group chats, showing suspected trespassers frantically escaping building 510, knocking over packages as they fled.
Bucket of water
Multiple residents have had their packages go missing around that time. Guendalina, who lives on the campus, was notified by a delivery company that a package containing a gift from her friend was delivered on January 16. Her friend had seen the package in the lobby, but it was gone before Guendalina had a chance to collect it. Around January 10, a package delivered by DHL to Eleni also went missing. Two weeks later, she discovered torn packages and some of their contents, including clothes from Shein, among the vegetation near the 405-461 building. She claims that this is a place where the suspects open stolen parcels, leaving behind the packaging and taking the more valuable contents with them.
This was not the first time that Uilenstede residents suffered from package theft this winter. Grootenboer had two of his packages stolen in December, which contained a portable monitor and headphones. On December 15, he noticed two masked teenagers from his apartment’s window, both around thirteen years old, acting suspiciously near the entrance to his building. “One sneaks in behind a habitant of the flat whilst the other stays as a scout outside”, he says, describing the strategy of the young trespassers.
While the intruder was “checking the packages and deciding which one to take,” Grootenboer decided to confront him, bringing along a bucket of water. He asked the teenager whether he was supposed to be there and the trespasser admitted to his wrongdoing. He then attempted to flee the scene, to which Grootenboer responded by throwing water over the infiltrator’s head. He ran away, swearing angrily, but being “more scared that he got caught” than confrontational, says Grootenboer.
Collection point
Police officer Phylipsen emphasizes that the police need more information to be able to deal with the issue of package theft. “When you see any suspicious behaviour, just call the police”, he advises, adding that attaching images and videos is also helpful. “We need more information”, he says. According to Phylipsen, no other reports of package theft were made at Uilenstede in the recent years, other than the ones filed on January 12. Similarly to the residents, he considers the primary reason enabling the theft to be the couriers leaving packages in the lobby.
Some residents have opted for alternative delivery methods to avoid their parcels being lost. After losing her package, Guendalina decided to order her future parcels to a collection point. “I always use MyPup lockers”, says Eijskoot. “If it’s not thieves, it’s the delivery drivers just losing packages.” DUWO seems to support this solution. In an email to Eleni, the campus administrator advised her to use MyPup services in the future, “so that your package is safely delivered to a locker.”