SOUTH BEND — St. Joseph County police say home break-ins have increased by 71 percent this year compared with the first five months of 2007. Your risk of being burglarized increases when you go away for a summer vacation.

But there are steps you can take to keep thieves away. Police say the best way to protect yourself is to think like a burglar — walk through both the inside and outside of your own house to see what might cause a thief to prey on you.

Burglars don't have to look far to know you're away. South Bend Police Cpl. and crime prevention specialist Pat Hechlinski said the first thing thieves look for is mail and newspapers piling up.

Hechlinski says you should recruit a friend or neighbor to collect those items, or call to stop your deliveries.

"The key is making it look as lived in as you would on a normal day," Hechlinski said.

That also means keeping your grass mowed and putting timers on lights, the television and radios.

"If all of the sudden your shades are down, your lights aren't on at night, that's going to be a little warning sign to somebody saying 'Hey they aren't home,'" he told WSBT.

Police say they're also seeing a lot more 'window shopping' crimes lately. Thieves going house to house, looking in window after window to see what they might like to take.

Cpl. Hechlinski recommends going through your own home to see if anything is appealing to you.

You might want to consider keeping your pets home rather than boarding them while you're away.

"That way the animals will be home," said Hechlinski. "Most robbers or burglars don't want to come into the house when animals are there."

Police also say if you have a security system in your home, you should call and tell the security company the dates you're going to be away. Make sure the police department is one of the first contacts on the list.

That way they get there right away if someone breaks in.

In some cases police will keep an eye on your home while you're on vacation. Most area departments have Home Watch or Vacation Watch programs.

All you have to do is call the non-emergency number to the department before you leave. Tell them when you're going to be gone and if you're going to have anyone stopping by the home to feed pets or get the mail.

Officers who regularly patrol the area will drive by and check out the house when they get a chance.

Local police departments' non-emergency numbers:

Elkhart (574) 533-4151
Elkhart County (574) 295-7070
Mishawaka (574) 258-1678
South Bend (574) 235-9361
St. Joseph County (574) 235-9611