Orleans break-ins have Ottawa police warning people to lock up

Ottawa police are reminding residents across the city to check that their doors and windows are locked after a recent increase in breaking and entering in Orleans.

Fifteen residential and 10 vehicle break-ins have been reported in the east-end community of Orleans in the last three weeks, with everything from spare car keys to electronics taken.

Ottawa police said most of the incidents were crimes of opportunity that could have been prevented.

"In the spring and summer months we find a rise in residential break-ins,” said Acting Staff Sgt. James McGarry.

“People are leaving their garage doors open, leaving their front doors unlocked, which presents a better opportunity for people who'd be so inclined to enter a residence and steal."

2 arrests came after neighbour reports

Lydia Matenda lives two doors down from a house that was recently broken into in the community of Fallingbrook.

“Sometimes the door is open because not everyone in the house has a key, but now we make sure to close the door at night because you never know,” she said.

Matenda said her neighbour jammed a broken hockey stick into one of their windows to bar it shut.

Police said they made four arrests related to break and enters in June, two of them coming after a neighbour saw something suspicious and called them, but that hasn’t stopped thieves altogether.

Officers are reminding residents to lock their doors and windows and close their garage doors, even when they’re home, and to keep an eye out for anything suspicious at nearby homes.