PORTLAND, Ore. -- High-tech doorbell cameras are helping catch crooks who break into homes or steal packages off front porches.
Washington County released video Friday of a thief walking up to a front door and stealing $150-worth of chocolate off a front porch in the Rock Creek area.
The day before, a man and woman were arrested after the man was caught trying to break into a door in rural Marion county.
And Portland Police put out video of a man and woman stealing packages from a Southeast Portland home in late November.
Officers say the high-quality pictures captured by cameras at each home were helpful.
“What it does allow us to do if the package is stolen, it helps us identify who the person is that potentially took the package,” said Portland Police Sergeant Chris Burley.
Each video carried the same logo, ring.com.
Company literature explains the doorbell has a camera to record whoever is there and technology that uses your existing wifi system to alert you through your phone. You can see the person live and talk with them if you want.
Or maybe you just want to call police.
That's what Jay Gattuccio did Thursday in Marion County when the man tried to smash open his door.
“He would have had free rein....I would be at work for hours. You know, he could have backed the car up here and loaded whatever he wanted in there but thank God he didn’t get in,” he said.
Ring has several versions of their security camera. Most sell for under $200.
The company has sold over a million cameras. Jay Gattuccio can see why.
"I thought it was really cool before, what a great concept. And then the fact that it actually saved me, it’s even better you know?” He said.
Aubrey Jarvis lives in the Portland area and said she’s thrilled with her Ring camera.
“Ring has been really awesome. It has a motion feature where when you are away and it detects motion, you can look at the live feed even if no one rang the doorbell. So I set it to notify me on my phone when someone was at our doorstep while I was at work. I really liked how you could adjust the motion zones and notification time range within the app,” she said.
“A few months ago, we had a man show up to our door who was intoxicated and knocking on our door very aggressively. I called the police and not only was able to give them a good physical description, but I was able to watch the police escort him away from our property using the camera's live feature. It even could see decently in the dark, so I felt really safe being able to see and hear the policeman outside without having to open my door,” she added.