RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- Richmond police are warning folks that their holiday trash could easily make them a target for thieves.
In fact, police said residents tossing out their Christmas trees and boxes from Christmas gifts could be targeted.
In fact, CBS 6 News' Shelby Brown found boxes stacked up in alleyways for items like 50-inch televisions, DVD players and Sony sound equipment.
Richmond police say that is exactly the sort of invitation thieves are looking for to make their move.
“They’re advertising to criminals what’s inside of their homes and thieves are checking things out to see how they’re going to do their job after Christmas,” Richmond Police Department spokesperson Gene Lepley said.
Lepley said photo police received prompted the department to send out an alert to citizens. In fact, Lepley said the RPD tweeted a picture of someone’s curbside garbage that included boxes of high dollar items like computers.
“We have 8,000 followers on Facebook and 8,000 followers on Twitter. In fact, when we post something on Facebook, it automatically sends out a tweet. We think it’s very effective,” Lepley explained.
As a reminder, Lepley said people should know it is best to break the boxes down. Another tip is to turn the boxes inside out so that the pictures are not on the outside.
Additionally, police also encourage people to keep boxes inside until recycling day.
