KOOTENAI COUNTY-- Burglaries appear to be on the rise across North Idaho, especially in Kootenai County.
Police say vehicle thefts in the last month are up 23% from this time last year.
Home break-ins rose by 2% in November.
Police also report dealing with 18% more business break-ins and robberies.
While the number of incidents goes up, detectives with the Coeur d’Alene police department are starting to track some of the suspects down.
But there could be a new, coordinated form of break-ins going on.
Monday, Coeur d’Alene police arrested three men in connection with the armed robbery of a coffee stand on Saturday.
Police say an anonymous tip led to the arrests.
Also on Monday, the department said it had solved the burglary of Duncan’s Pet Store.
It had some pets stolen in August.
But detectives also recently found a text message on the phone of a known burglar.
It indicates there is a group of people going around town scouting for possible burglary targets.
Sergeant Christie Wood says what they’re doing is they are contacting each other about a good neighborhood to hit late on in the night.
Police could not say if there is any connection between this coordination and the spike in crime.
But they are reminding people to be smart around their home, watch out for their neighbors, and not to leave valuables out in the open.
