A pallet of packages was found in the middle of the street of a Detroit neighborhood.

The USPS has launched Connect Local in 17 locations across Metro Detroit in an effort to help small businesses get packages out to local customers faster.

It’s not just random anymore -- some suspected package thieves are posing as delivery drivers and that’s just the start.

Residents are encouraged to contact Berkley Public Safety if they have concerns of potential fraud.

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – A Plymouth teacher learned that two packages delivered to her home have been stolen from her porch. “I looked at my video and saw that one (package) was delivered and I got a second one,” Rocheleau said. She checked her home video and saw that a woman took the packages. While one package was work-related, the second package was likely from her son and daughter-in-law in Hawaii. She must be going through something too to go and take things from people.”AdAnyone with information is asked to contact the Plymouth Police Department.

The United States Postal Service expects shipping traffic to increase the week of Dec. 7 and predicts the week of Dec. 14 to be the busiest for mailing, shipping and delivery. Links for shipping deadlines:Fedex is dubbing the holiday season “Shipathon,” saying the company will be up 22%. To help meet holiday deadlines, USPS is keeping some area post offices open for extended hours the next two Saturdays. To enjoy these fast and free shipping benefits (plus so much more), customers can sign-up for a 30-day free trial of Prime at www.amazon.com/prime. To read more about Amazon’s Holiday Shipping, Delivery, Pickups and Returns options visit the Day One blog at: www.amazon.com/holidaydelivery.

DETROIT – A Detroit woman said she took matters into her own hands after someone was stealing her packages. After getting a Ring doorbell camera, she finally caught a woman stealing her latest package off her door step. I see her walking away with my package,” Harris said. “Starting from Nov. 3 was probably the first package that was stolen, and since then up until the day before yesterday, a total of six. So now this young man probably has to wait until after Christmas for me to actually get what he wanted.”Detroit police are reviewing the video.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Residents in one Clinton Township neighborhood have gone days -- sometimes even a week -- without mail delivery. Postal Service in Detroit, and while she didn’t want to elaborate on camera about specific problems, Local 4 did receive a written statement. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced by customers living in the Clinton Township community. Local management is working with customers to resolve their concerns. Postal ServiceResidents told Local 4 that mail, as of Thursday, had resumed being delivered.

To make sure your gifts arrive before Christmas, follow the holiday shipping deadlines for the U.S. USPS holiday shipping deadlinesThe USPS recommends shipping your packages by the following dates if you want them to arrive before December 25. FedEx holiday shipping deadlinesFedEx recommends shipping your packages by the following dates if you want them to arrive before December 25. UPS holiday shipping deadlinesUPS recommends shipping your packages by the following dates if you want them to arrive before December 25. Amazon holiday shipping deadlines will vary depending on where you live, what you’re ordering and if you’re a Prime member.

Since this summer, we’ve had an increase in patients reporting delays (especially in rural areas) with deliveries of their medications sent via USPS. Many of our specialty medications are refrigerated and sent via FedEx Overnight, but most of our retail prescriptions and non-refrigerated medications are sent via USPS Priority Mail. We typically expect, and relay to our patients, that their medications (sent via USPS) will take 2-3 days to arrive, from the date it ships from our facility. We’ve had an increase in the number of patients reporting delays, and in some cases it takes over a week to arrive. We’ve also had an increase in issues with tracking the shipments; when I started working here about a year ago, I never had any issues tracking shipments.

The following are responses to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. It’s not due to lack of mail, our postal worker just doesn’t come! When my dad mails something to Mexico it takes at least 5 weeks to get there -- NO MAIL SHOULD TAKE THAT LONG! So just to mail a letter from a city 30 minutes away it took a week! I can’t imagine how bad it is for people that rely on USPS to bring their medication!

The following are responses to ClickOnDetroits callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. Our city income tax return was due July 31. I hand delivered the return to the main post office on July 20. The post office box for the city is located there. Three weeks later, I received the return back with a 15 cents postage due.

The following are responses to ClickOnDetroits callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. Ill be using UPS or FedEx to send items.-- Anonymous in St. Clair Township (ZIP: 48079)I have worked at the post office for almost 35 years. What I want people to understand is that Covid hit the post office, too. Our packages are up over 51% and we have half the workforce, do the math! The post office has been in business for over 200 years and handles over 1 million pieces of mail every day.

However, my absentee ballot that I mailed a week prior to election day arrived in 4 days and was on time. I receive mail now a few times a week. I make sure that I allow a week for my mail to reach its destination locally.Liela in Dearborn (ZIP: 48124)I live in Rochester Hills -- 48309. (ZIP: 39560)About 2 years ago we stopped receiving mail for over a week. Have you missed a bill payment because you did not receive the mail on time?

I pay for two-day priority shipping -- the package arrives from its point of origin, to the Detroit hub, usually the next day. In the past year, I’ve waited as much as 11 days for a package, mailed through the USPS, with 2-3 day shipping, numerous times. I’m very fed up with the lousy service USPS is providing. I have filed numerous complaints yet nothing gets done about it.”-- Maureen in Alger (ZIP: 48610)“Mailed a package from the Clinton Township P.O. It went there, was out for delivery, went back to warehouse, then to NJ, then to CT and finally back to California.

The following are a responses to ClickOnDetroits callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. When I kept tracking them it said they were at the post office in Madison heights. Company finally sent another pair.-- Anonymous in Shelby Township (ZIP: 48316)I have had several packages delayed in delivery. All my packages seem to arrive at Detroit Metro Sorting center and then disappear. I sent a package to Texas and it left my local post office, arrived at Detroit Sorting center and sat there for two weeks until I filed a missing package report.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroits callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. I placed an order (shipping from California) on July 18, within 10 days they shipped it (via USPS). On August 6 tracking showed the package was 2 blocks from my house (not at the post office either). When I contacted the post office (the first time) I was told they contacted the last place it was scanned and they were waiting for a reply. I was told that they had to close the case but would continue to monitor my package.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. “I mailed the remaining payment check to the tree trimmer that did work for me on 6/30. I also filed a ‘missing mail’ report with the USPS on 8/23, and have had no reply from the post office. There are too many issues I have experienced with the mail to write to you about re the postal service, and they have been going on for 2-3 years, not just the last two months. Have you missed a bill payment because you did not receive the mail on time?

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. “Mail delivery gets later and later each day and maybe only comes three days a week. Won’t be paying for special priority services anymore since items do not arrive as planned. Has a loved one not received his or her medicine through the mail on time? Have you missed a bill payment because you did not receive the mail on time?

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. There are weeks that I don’t receive mail for 4-plus days. Then there are weeks I get my mail almost every day. Back in April I had a package that was missing for 5 weeks. Have you missed a bill payment because you did not receive the mail on time?

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. Delays in sending and/or receiving mail has been the ‘norm’ over the last several years. Mail has been tampered with, repeatedly delivered to the wrong address (including packages), and carriers have outright lied about deliveries. A case in point: we’d been waiting for a package to be delivered on the anticipated and posted delivery date. As it was the posted delivery date and the delivery was for an auto part, we decided to work on the vehicle that day.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroits callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. I live in 48324 -- West Bloomfield. I noticed the mail starting to slow down in April at the height of the virus. I guess I thought that made some amount of sense because everything was behind schedule then -- not just the mail. But it has continued and gotten worse.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. “Mail delivery in the 48114 ZIP code has been poor for years. Mostly, the poor service was when the regular mail carrier was off. My new neighbor (since December 2019) mentioned to me that he feels we have poor mail service. The Post Office never kept me updated, but did deliver it on Day 19 -- still without any follow up.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. “I retired from the post office 18 years ago. Route adjustments, no overtime, supervision doing bargaining unit work to stem overtime pay, hiring freezes, delayed mail delivery -- I have seen it all. Any money that the Post Office makes must be put into that fund before any profits. Mail from the Downriver area is now sent to Pontiac to be processed when it used to be taken to the Detroit main post office and then back for delivery to the areas around here.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroit’s callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. “They come multiple times a day because all the mail and parcels aren’t sorted in time in the morning. They have to drive back to the office midday -- this is a huge waste of time and money but fixing it is not a small simple change. They call this pivoting and it is the reason you see a different carrier every day on some routes. At this point, we can’t even keep the staff we have because they are tired of working 12-plus hours a day while being told they are too slow and everything is their fault.

The following is a response to ClickOnDetroits callout for recent experiences with the Post Office. We have missed making several bill payments on time because of mail that never arrives. Two times we were able to make online payments the day of receiving a bill. We have a small Amazon business so we send out and receive many packages on a regular basis; about 75-200 packages a month. Have you missed a bill payment because you did not receive the mail on time?

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has announced that he was suspending certain changes until after the fall election while complaints about the mail have been piling up for weeks. Have you experienced a delay with your mail -- either sending or receiving it? Has a loved one not received his or her medicine through the mail on time? Have you missed a bill payment because you did not receive the mail on time? Please let us know with as much detail as possible:Related:

OAK PARK, Mich. Delivery problems across Metro Detroit are ongoing. Many customers have waiting for days -- or even weeks -- to get their packages from FedEx and an Oak Park facility seems to be at fault. ORIGINAL STORY: Oak Park FedEx facility struggles to mail out packages, residents sayLocal 4 started looking into the problem at the Oak Park FedEx facility in mid-June. A resident of Roseville said he purchased a new bed weeks ago and it has yet to have been delivered. RELATED: Oak Park FedEx taking steps to fix package delivery issueSo, what can you do?

OAK PARK, Mich. Theres a growing frustration among Metro Detroiters who have seen seeing their online orders left in limbo. People claim a FedEx distribution center in Oak Park has their packages trapped inside the building. Some said they have waited weeks for their delivery. ORIGINAL STORY: Oak Park FedEx facility struggles to mail out packages, residents sayThe OakPark FedEx location is now becoming filled with angry consumers -- people who say their items are stuck inside. Those steps include:More package handlersMore driversDiverting packages to other FedEx locationsImproving communication with customersRELATED: Scam text message claims to have FedEx, Amazon delivery infoSo, what can you do?

OAK PARK, Mich. Many Metro Detroiters who ordered items weeks -- and even months -- ago are still waiting for their FedEx deliveries. Those who have had problems getting their packages claim one local FedEx facility is not able to keep up. RELATED: Scam text message claims to have FedEx, Amazon delivery infoFrustration over FedExs Oak Park office has been growing. Social media is filled with hundreds of message from people who said the items theyve ordered are being held hostage. Residents said theyve tried to get answers on what has been holding things up and were asked to leave the facility.

ROSEVILLE, Mich. – Roseville police are seeking help to identify a larceny suspect who stole a package from a resident’s front porch on Tuesday. Police say the “porch pirate” was captured on camera (below) stealing a package in the 27000 block of Groveland Street around 5:35 p.m. The thief pulled up in front of the resident’s home in a small, dark colored sedan shortly after the resident’s package arrived, police say. The porch pirate is described as a man with a slim build and was wearing a red Adidas hooded sweatshirt and white jogging pants. Anyone with information that can help identify the suspect is asked to contact Roseville Police Detective Scicluna at 586-447-4510.