DURHAM – The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a higher-than-average number of burglaries in Durham in August.

According to Capt. Raymond LaFrance, there were six reported burglaries in Durham last month – a number that wouldn’t even raise eyebrows in a larger city like Portland, but is high for a small community like Durham. “(That number is) unusual for any of the (smaller) towns,” LaFrance said. “We don’t have that many burglaries.”

Durham seems to have the highest amount of incidents in the tri-town area, as both Freeport and Pownal had far fewer reported cases last month.

According to Lt. Susan Nourse of the Freeport Police Department, only three burglaries were reported in town during the month of August.

Lt. Kerry Joyce of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, which covers Pownal, said while “it seemed that we were active over there (in Pownal),” earlier in the summer, things have quieted down. Joyce said that a report covering Aug. 13-27 showed no incidents in Pownal at all.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office did not have any statistics for Durham available for July, as it only covers Durham every other month. The Maine State Police handle calls in the town in the alternate months. The state police said they did not have statistics for incidents in Durham for July readily available.

When asked for a possible reason for the uptick in burglaries, LaFrance said a lot of it could have to do with the still-struggling economy. He said people looking for either prescription drugs or the money to buy drugs could also be responsible.

“People looking to get something for nothing,” LaFrance said.

In many cases, items that can quickly be converted into cash, such as electronics and jewelry, are stolen, though not all of the break-ins have led to property loss, LaFrance said. He said that in some cases, homeowners reported evidence of a break-in, but said that nothing was missing.

“It sounds like they got scared away,” LaFrance said.

Vehicles are also being targeted, even if they are in garages. LaFrance said that the sheriff’s office has had reports of garages being broken into and GPS units and other items being stolen from vehicles.

But not all the incidents are in occupied homes. LaFrance said some break-ins were in vacant buildings that were either being renovated or up for sale. In those cases, LaFrance said, copper pipe was stolen.

“Copper prices are very high (right now),” LaFrance said. “It invites thieves to go in (to empty buildings and cut the pipes out). That’s happening all over the place.”

He said it could be easy for thieves to remove copper pipes from an empty building, especially since it can easily look like the people walking out with lengths of pipe are legitimately working on the property.

LaFrance said there are some simple ways, such as making sure car and house doors are always locked, to avoid being a target of burglars. He said that most of the incidents happen during the day, when most people are away from home, making it important to keep an eye on what’s going on in the neighborhood.

“Be vigilant,” LaFrance said. “Know your neighbors.”

If homeowners are going to be away for an extended period of time, they should take measures, such as leaving a car in the driveway to help deter thieves.

“Try and make your house look like somebody’s home all the time,” he said.

And if you see something suspicious, LaFrance said, call the police right away.

“We don’t have a problem with getting a call and checking it out,” he said.