Bucks County police use technology to solve campaign sign crimes

On October 30, 2024By Karl

When thieves stole her Harris-Walz sign for the third time last weekend, Phyllis Arnold said she didn’t notice.

He learned the sign was missing after a friend told him he found it along with dozens of others in a dumpster in nearby Chalfont.

When his friend went looking for the stolen Harris-Walz sign, he came across discarded Democratic presidential ticket lawn signs with an air tag that allowed him to track its location.

On Monday, Buckingham Police confirmed they were investigating four stolen Harris-Walz signs over the past two days, including Arnold’s and the tracking device.

Bucks County police said it’s not unusual to see an increase in complaints about sign nonsense in the final weeks of presidential races, and it’s a problem that cuts across party lines, with Republicans and Democrats both reporting theft and damage.

But in the past, there was little law enforcement could do to solve such thefts, which often occurred under cover of night.

But the proliferation of affordable advanced technologies such as high-definition camera systems and GPS trackers now gives police an advantage in nuisance crime investigations and the pursuit of criminal charges, including theft and vandalism.

Last month, Lower Makefield police charged a 46-year-old Newtown Township man with misdemeanor theft and receiving stolen property after he was caught on video allegedly stealing a large Trump-Vance sign in the front yard.

Police say at least half a dozen complaints have been made about the theft or destruction of political signs in Lower Makefield this month. These include a report that a political sign was set on fire and that someone defecated in the front yard of a home and covered it with a political sign.

Earlier this month, police in nearby Falls Township charged a Bristol man with theft after he was caught stealing a large plywood Trump-Vance sign worth $150 on Levittown Parkway near Mill Creek Road.

Two teenage boys from Middletown were charged last month for tearing down a Harris-Walz flag and knocking over a large sign supporting Democratic candidates at a home in the Cobalt Ridge section of Levittown.

But Middletown Lt. Steven Forman said he wasn’t convinced the action was politically motivated. “I get the impression that young people don’t care which party the signs belong to,” he said.

So far this political season, Forman said, he hasn’t seen a significant increase in political sign vandalism and theft compared to previous presidential races.

“We will receive more complaints after November 5”^This “It’s about political signs on the side of the highway that need to be taken away,” he added.

Northampton County Police received four reports of signs being stolen or vandalized

“Every presidential candidate was equally targeted,” added Northampton Supervisor Steven LeCompte.

A recent increase in reports of damaged and stolen political signs Plumstead Borough Police And Doylestown Township police each will post online appeals for kindness.

Doylestown Township police are also fielding reports of “politically charged statements” being written on municipal properties, resulting in increased police patrols.

Four years ago, Amy McKenna-Fell and her husband didn’t call the police after someone stole the large Biden-Harris sign they had hung in the front yard of their Buckingham home.

But enough was enough when thieves targeted their home Saturday night, stealing a half-dozen Harris-Walz lawn signs, including a 4-foot-by-6-foot-tall piece of plywood worth $250.

McKenna-Fell said the couple filed a police report on Monday.

“It was very purposeful. McKenna-Fell said local (Democratic) politicians’ signs were left untouched. “It feels very angry. I feel like people are looking at signs as public property rather than private property.”

McKenna-Fell and her husband spent Sunday building a new, larger sign to replace the stolen one. They also ordered new, smaller lawn signs.

“It’s a real shame it’s come to this,” McKenna-Fell said. “You can’t change their minds about who they voted for. You are just stealing someone’s property.”

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at [email protected].