Some eastside neighborhoods are continuing to experience a rash of residential burglaries.

The areas being targeted are generally between Division Street and Cottage Grove Road, south of East Washington Avenue.

There have been 14 attempted burglaries, and 12 successful burglaries in this area since the beginning of September. In about half of the successful burglaries nothing was taken.

Almost all have involved window screens being removed or cut, although a few entries were also made through unlocked rear or porch doors.

Most crimes are believed to have occurred between 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. In many cases, residents had left for only a few hours.

Mostly small items - typically cash or jewelry - have been taken.

The burglar usually leaves by the back door.

East District Captain Jilene Klubertanz recently advised residents -via email - to secure their homes, even if going out for a short period of time. She also urged them to be vigilant.

"Please watch each other's houses and cars. If you see anyone you don't know loitering near a neighbor's home or car, call 911 immediately to report a possible burglary or theft in progress. Get as good of a description as possible of the person. If possible, continue to watch the person to give updates on where they were last seen.

Together, the residents of this area can provide thousands of additional eyes watching for these suspects. While the police will be giving extra attention to the area and potential suspects, the residents of the area are the experts on who belongs and who doesn't," said Captain Klubertanz.

There also appears to be a recent increase in thefts from autos in this same area. These include unlocked cars, breaking of windows to enter locked cars, and in a few cases the use of some type of tool to unlock cars. It is unknown if these thefts are related to the burglaries.