Pint-sized thieves caught on camera stealing packages from porch

Police are looking for a pair of pint-sized thieves who were caught on camera taking packages from someone’s front porch in Roselle.
A viewer sent News 12 New Jersey pictures from a Ring video surveillance camera that shows two boys, around 10 or 12 years old, running past her property with what is believed to be packages from a neighbor’s porch. That neighbor also sent News 12 photos from her Ring doorbell camera of the alleged thieves and also filed a police report.
Roselle Police Lt. Lori Soares says that she wants it to be known that this is not the type of behavior children in the town should be participating in.
"Understand that people work hard for their money and you can't go up to a porch and take things that don't belong to you,” she says.
News 12 has chosen not to use photos that show close-up images of the boys, due to their ages. But Soares says that the boys should certainly know what they are doing is wrong. The boys are seen stopping what they are doing when someone drives by. But Soares says that they may not fully understand the seriousness of what they have done.
“I think that by looking at the video and at the kids’ age, I don't think they understand the consequence that's involved with stealing packages from somebody’s porch,” she says. “I mean, it could be a $10 item - or a thousand-dollar item. They don't really understand that.”
Police say that according to the police report, there were three packages on the porch. Two were left behind. It's believed that the kids dropped them as they ran away. The third package is still missing. Police say that its contents are worth just under $50.
The boys could face juvenile theft charges. Police say that jail time is not likely, but they could be forced to write an essay about why what they did was wrong. Police say that they want the kids to learn the lesson that crime doesn’t pay, before it costs them big.
Police say that they hope that the boys recognize themselves on TV and talk to their parents and then to Roselle police.
Authorities around the state are also encouraging all New Jersey residents who have Ring doorbell cameras to register those cameras with police. It can help deter or solve crimes.