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Railroad, Shipping Companies See Uptick in Looting

Empty boxes and packages from UPS, FedEx and Amazon have been found alongside railroad tracks.

Shipping companies claim there has been an increase in railroad theft, according to CNN Business

This has resulted in piles of empty boxes and packages from companies such as UPS, FedEx and Amazon found alongside rail tracks, particularly in Los Angeles County. 

Railroad company Union Pacific announced it may avoid operations in the county and assigned blame to insufficient prosecution. 

In a letter to the L.A. district attorney, Union Pacific pointed to a 160% year-over-year increase in theft in the county. 

Union Pacific possesses its own police department with jurisdiction covering the 32,000 miles of tracks it owns. 

The letter also includes Union Pacific reporting it made over 100 arrests of “active criminals vandalizing our trains.”

However, arrested individuals are released from custody within 24 hours, according to Union Pacific. 

On Monday, a train derailed in L.A. and its unknown whether or not the debris caused 17 cars to run off the tracks. 

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