(KRON) -- Residents in San Francisco’s Marina district are frustrated after having their packages stolen multiple times.
San Francisco Police are investigating a break-in that occurred on September 25th in the 3700 block of Scott Street.
Officers discovered that the call box at an apartment building had been vandalized and that a suspect gained access to the building. A walkthrough found that nothing was stolen, but residents like Arik King told KRON 4 that people have broken in to steal packages before.
“I definitely have, especially during the holiday season a while back,” said King
The suspect who broke in last month was caught in the act, thanks to cameras set up by the building’s property manager.
“I think they sprayed some type of saline solution onto the box that shorted the box and let them get in the building, and fortunately our property manager had a camera set up and they looked right into the camera and decided not to go in,” said King.
According to police, no arrests have been made.
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This isn't the first call box to be found broken in the surrounding area. Warman Security president Peter Badertscher says vandals are using liquids to trip call boxes more often.
“I would say in the last two years there is a rampant break in problem, especially with the entry systems,” said Badertscher.
He says most buildings are using older call box systems, making it easier for thieves to break in. His recommendation to avoid falling victim is to make technology upgrades.
“We do sell a lot of the newer type of intercoms that are Wi-Fi enabled, video, a little more power to the tenants,” said Badertscher.
SFPD says there has not been an uptick in this type of property crime in the city, according to its burglary unit.
