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It was bad enough that someone stole Kent Templien’s doorbell surveillance camera. But Templien was dumbfounded when he learned that the camera was being hooked up at another residence.

“I guess I want to know what kind of fool does something like that,” said Templien, who lives near the Village Pointe shopping center in west Omaha. “What’s happening? Are you stealing so someone doesn’t steal packages left on your porch?”

The Ring brand smart doorbell device allows users to monitor their property. When the doorbell is pressed, an application begins a video call to a connected device such as a cellphone so that the owner can see and speak to the visitors.

Omaha police have credited surveillance systems such as video doorbells with helping to catch people stealing packages from porches. A Bellevue police detective said in court last month that a doorbell camera provided critical video for arrests in a June 26 homicide.

Around 5:20 a.m. Aug. 28, Templien thought someone was trying to break into his house through the front door. When he checked outside, the video doorbell had been removed and a flower planter had been shattered.