Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Minnesota

Hi,

I live in a apartment building. It has no security cameras and our mailboxes are in the entry way. We have been having trouble with someone stealing packages, from on top of mailboxes that either come ups, usps, and, whoever else. Would it be illegal to make a dummy package with a cellphone or gps tracking device in the box and leave it on top of the mailboxes. So you could track down who stealing packages? Thanks


Asked on 4/13/13, 12:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Thompson None

I cannot say whether doing something like that is illegal or not, but it is not something I'd recommend doing. What you are describing is taking the law into your own hands, which could have a variety of reprecussions. Whoever takes the box could sue you for invasion of privacy for example, depending upon what you do. The police may also decide to investigate you for obstruction of justice or perhaps some type of disorderly conduct.

Your best recourse is to report the thefts to the police, and to your landlord. The police would write up a report and that might put your landlord on notice to fix the problem by installing a security camera or a more secure mailbox area.

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Answered on 4/17/13, 8:09 am


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