As a California native, I can tell you that this type of crime is on the rise and has been for several years. The reason is simple, Californians voted to allowed it. This has nothing to do with political affiliation, it has everything to do with simple crime and punishment.
The idiots here voted several years ago to effectively decriminalize property crimes and to let most of the offenders out of jail to save money. Its now a quick catch-and-release thing with little to no jail time, and typically only a small fine (basically everything non-violent is now a misdemeanor). So these criminals go out the next day and do it again and again. All the doorbell and dashcam videos are useless because they don't bother prosecuting anymore. Cops don't waste their time, and DA's can't waste their money.
We had Prop 20 on the ballot this November that would've made things tougher on the criminals, but it got voted down by nearly 70%. Everyone I know here is sick and tired of porch-pirates, mailbox thieves, and car burglaries, but yet everyone voted against punishing the people who are responsible. Go figure.