Red Cross canvasser charged after package stolen from front porch

By News Staff

A canvasser with the Red Cross is facing charges after a package was stolen from a home in Stouffville.

Kumar Gopal said he was expecting a package to be delivered to his home on Tuesday afternoon. When it didn’t arrive, he looked at his security camera footage to see what had happened.

To his shock, the video showed a female walk up the steps of his porch around 5 p.m. and ring the doorbell several times before picking up the package, covering it with her sweater and walking away.

Watch the security video below or click here to view it on mobile.

Police said the suspect was arrested quickly and has been charged with theft under $5,000.

Kira Froese, senior manager of communications for the Canadian Red Cross said the female arrested had been hired by a vendor the organization uses for door-to-door canvassing campaigns across the country.

“We worked closely with our vendor to ensure that the person in question, who was canvassing on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross, will be dismissed,” she explained.

Froese added that the organization has been cooperating with police and has been in touch with Gopal.

She called the incident an isolated one and that the vendor they use has very strong hiring and screening process — including a criminal record check.

“We take this incident very seriously. It was really upsetting for us,” she said.

“The Red Cross will continue to ensure that we’re managing our policies and procedures but really it is this one, isolated incident. We’ve visited over 200,000 homes in the GTA over the past year and this is the only case where this has been reported.”

Authorities are reminding the public that with the weather improving, more foot traffic on residential streets could mean more risk.

“The nice weather brings about a lot people, a lot of activity outside,” Sgt. Peter Kalpouzos explained.

“People receiving packages at home, especially ones that are valuable, should sign for these packages when they’re delivered, not leave them on the front porch.”

Gopal said he posted this video on Facebook to serve as a warning for others but police suggest that anyone who falls victim to this type of theft should contact authorities immediately before circulating video online.

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