'Tis the season for pesky porch pirates. Fortunately, it's a crime the White Lake Township Police Department doesn't see too often.

"We're around, we're watching, so if packages are delivered to front porches, we do keep a pretty good eye on that," said White Lake police Lt. Matthew Ivory.

Ivory says it's what this police department offers during the holiday season that protects packages and serves the community, which prevents these thefts. It's called Operation Santa's Vault.

"People can send packages directly to the police department, and we'll store them until they can come get them," Ivory said. 

The program, offered at no charge to the community, started a few years ago and has been successful ever since.

"Just kind of brainstorming ideas of what we could do to better the community. We always try to come up with things, innovative ways to make White Lake better, safer," Ivory said. 

How does it work? When shopping online, type your name as the person being delivered to, followed by C/O Santa's Vault as the secondary recipient, then use the police department's address at 7525 Highland Rd., White Lake, Michigan, 48383.

"Amazon, UPS, FedEx, we see them all. They bring them right to our front counter here, we log them in, they get put into a secured area, and then all they have to do is come to our station, present a government-issued ID, and we give them their packages," Ivory said. 

The police department will offer this safekeeping tool until Dec. 23.

"We're here to help. Send your packages to us. We'll be happy to take care of them for you," Ivory said. 

For more information on Operation Santa's Vault, contact the White Lake Township Police Department at 248-698-4400.