CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Corvallis Police arrested three people after planting bait packages for them to steal.

"All it takes is just one porch pirate to cause grief all around this whole neighborhood," said Rick Wilson, a Corvallis resident. He said he's had a package stolen from his front porch once before: "one time, but we're very careful."

His Corvallis neighborhood, located next to the Oregon State campus, has been hit hard by package thieves.

For the past several years, the Corvallis Police Department Community Livability Unit said they've been taking steps to curb seasonal package thefts with education, prevention, and enforcement initiatives.

During the month of December, they used bait packages for the first time. The package has a GPS inside and alerts police when they're on the move. 

"We know when they've been stolen and can catch the thief in the act," said Officer Trevor Anderson.

Police made three arrests in total during this initiative and were able to return previously stolen goods.

For more information on how to prevent package thefts, click here.