Roseville, Calif. — In West Roseville, many new homes are going up and new neighbors are moving in.
Realtor Jose Chavez said new housing developments are popular for homebuyers, but recently they've been all too inviting for the those who are not welcome.
"Since May we've had 13 construction site thefts. Twelve have been in the west side of town where all the homes are being built," said Rob Baquera with Roseville PD.
Baquera made the connection between new homes and thefts.
"This is a trend we see more and more just based on the fact there are a lot of homes on the market," Baquera said.
Police said vacant homes are attractive to criminals.
"Criminals are seizing the opportunity of not many neighbors being around. They are going into the houses in the middle of the night and pulling out appliances and selling them," Baquera said.
"That is a big concern. It's a big concern for all residents in this area, especially around new construction," Chavez said.
While the amount of thefts is alarming for Chavez, he wasn't too surprised.
"It's inevitable. New area. Nice homes. Burglars are going to think there's money and new things," Chavez said.
But Chavez said there are ways to try to prevent this crime from happening.
"Stage the home. Make it look like someone is living there. Put some sort of surveillance up," Chavez suggested.
Chavez also suggested exchanging phone numbers with your neighbors in order to make sure someone can watch out for you when you are not around.
"Get to know your neighbor. It's hard. We are so busy, getting kids to practice. We work so much these days. It's really hard to forget to take a moment and get to know your neighbor," said Chavez.
Police are increasing patrols in the area where the thefts have been happening. They also urge any one with surveillance cameras to register their cameras with the department. It helps them know who has an extra set of eyes on a neighborhood or home, in case of crime.
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