FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Since October, 37 burglaries have occurred in the Fairhope Police Department jurisdiction, said FPD Sgt. Craig Sawyer.

“We’ve had a marked increase in the number of burglaries in the past few months,” Sawyer said last Wednesday. “In a three-month period, that number is unheard of.”

Most of the burglaries were in the 17000 block of Scenic Highway 98, a mile-long stretch of road running south from the Grand Hotel to County Road 32, he said.

Sawyer said 25 burglaries were reported in that one section of Point Clear alone — a historic area of bay front houses, some valued in the millions of dollars.

“Of that 25, 20 involved forced entry, and five had unlocked doors or windows,” he said. “The person or persons are hitting a lot of second houses that aren’t occupied. We have no reason to believe it’s more than one person, but it could be.”

Most of the break-ins there involved jimmied doors or busted windows, but five also had pulled or cut phone lines to disable alarm systems.

The first burglary in Point Clear was reported on Oct. 7, eight more in November, 14 in December and two the first week of January, Sawyer said.

“If we get three or four in a month, that’s at the high end of an average month,” he said. “We’ve increased patrols in the area and taken other steps we can’t comment on. We’re also following up on every lead and checking with local pawn shops.”

The majority of property taken from the break-ins included televisions, cameras, cell phones and computers, according to police reports.

But one burglary east of Greeno Road on County Road 48 reported much more than items bound for the pawn shop.

On Dec. 30, two safes with $90,000 in cash were reported stolen from a residence in the 11000 block of that road, according to a police department incident report.

The report stated that jewelry valued at $5,000, as well as a pistol, two shotguns, a rifle and two laptop computers were also stolen.

No arrests have been made in any of the burglaries, Sawyer said.

“There have been increased burglaries throughout the county during this period,” he said. “If you see someone walking on foot at odd hours in that Point Clear area, give us a call so they can be identified.”

He also suggested talking with neighbors and offering to keep an eye on their property reporting suspicious vehicles in their driveways when they are out of town.

“If you don’t have a home alarm, it is something to look into,” he said, adding that a battery back-up system should also be considered.

In every case where alarms went off during this period in the Point Clear area, the burglar left without taking anything, he said.

“If you have electronic goods in your house, you should also keep a record of serial numbers,” Sawyer said. “That’s the only way they can be traced.”