MILWAUKEE — The holiday shopping and shipping season is in full swing, which means more packages are making it to our doorsteps, but not necessarily into our homes.

Law enforcement agencies notice an uptick each holiday season of thieves targeting packages, they call them porch thieves. Often times people will drive around looking for unattended packages, will walk right up to the porch and steal them.

Captain Ben Graham with the Wausau Police Department suggested several things to keep items safe, including a doorbell camera to deter thieves, tracking packages to keep them from piling up at the door, package holding and pickup with certain carriers, or even using carrier boxes where you can pick up.

Capt. Graham says, video evidence is key when reporting stolen packages, but he advises people to report even if they don't have evidence. Graham also wants to remind people to check with the carrier before reporting in case packages are late or some other shipping issue. 

Some research shows as many as 1.7 million packages are stolen each year.