CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Throughout several neighborhoods in Clarksville vacant and for sale homes have become more common, and the empty space has been attracting the wrong attention.
"They may have access to some of the doors, maybe they're not locked but then other doors might be forced open," Clarksville Police spokesperson, Natalie Hall, said.
Since May police said there have been several reports of empty homes being burglarized, and the criminals have been getting away with major appliances.
"It could be a crime of opportunity, I don't know that for sure, but it does appear that it’s happening more often," said Hall.
In most cases, police said thieves were targeting the homes by looking for "For Sale" signs out front.
"We want people to report suspicious activity," Hall said.
However, reporting it may be difficult. Police believed the suspects have found a way to go undetected by neighbors.
"Some of them may pull up in vans, may look like they have uniforms on, may make it appear that they belong there, maybe they're an appliance company," Hall explained.
That's why they're asking anyone who believes they may have witnessed something suspicious to call authorities.
"We can come out and check on them. If they say they belong there or have some kind of identification that shows that they belong there, we can go from there, but if they don't we're possibly stopping a crime from occurring," said Hall.
Neighbors said they know of several H-VAC units that were taken from vacant homes in their area as well. It may be a crime that can be traced.
"For the homeowners or the realtor companies, they need to record the name of the items in their homes, the serial numbers and the brands," Hall said.
