A recent rash of break-ins – including five in the downtown area last weekend – have Piqua Police Department officials alerting business owners to be wary.

“Sometimes we keep our mouths shut until we figure out the patterns,” said Piqua Police Chief Bruce Jamison. “In this case, people need to know to batten down the hatches a little bit.”

Since December 1, the Piqua area – mostly downtown – has had about a dozen break-ins, Jamison said, an unusually-high figure. He thinks many of them are related, and, “they’re not the usual high target (stores). It’s like a hair salon, insurance agency, realtor.

“What we’re thinking is they’re hoping to find some money in there, although we’ve had a couple of places where some big screen TVs have been taken. It’s just enough it seems like a pattern and we wanted to let people know even before we figured it all out.”

Jamison said business owners should not keep money at their business locations at night unless in a heavy or bolted down safe, should invest in an alarm, should make sure their doors and windows are secure and not leave any ladders around.

“We’re trying to get the word out,” Jamison said. “We want to get these guys. But if we make it so there’s no place in town they can get into, we’ll take that.”

Anyone with information should contact the police on the Piqua web site at www.piquaoh.org/police.htm or on Facebook or through other social media. Informants will be kept confidential.