TEMPE, Ariz. — You hear about porch pirates being caught on camera all the time.
It's not often you hear about porch pirates actually getting caught.
Tempe Police arrested Rudy Mix and Joshua Sipe for allegedly stealing packages from front porches. One of those instance was caught on the homeowner's video doorbell, police said.
"They had some history where officers recognized who they were," Officer Greg Bacon said.
But without the video and officers recognizing them, Bacon said it's possible they would never have been caught.
"We don't make a ton of arrests on these cases," Bacon said, "but usually it's when we have good video and we can take a still shot."
Arizona is the 9th worst state for theft, according to Security.org, which analyzed FBI crime statistics and conducted its own surveys. According to their numbers, 40% of people have had packages stolen from them.
Bacon said the easiest way to prevent yourself from being part of that 40 % is to keep your packages out of the open.
Some shippers have lockers available for delivery. Amazon has a program that lets them place packages inside your house. And if all else fails, Bacon said make friends with a neighbor who can help pick up your deliveries.