Dorchester, especially the northern areas, is seeing a rash of home burglaries. Police are asking residents to be alert, check their locks, and call authorities if they notice any suspicious behavior.

Capt. Tim Connolly, commander at the C-11 police district, said on Wednesday that the district has had more than 20 break-ins in the last three weeks, dispersed throughout Dorchester and with no distinct pattern. The break-ins are generally happening during daylight hours between 8 a.m. and noon while residents are more likely to be at work, and often targeting multi-family dwellings.

“The problem is, most of them are being reported when victims come home from work or later in the evening,” Connolly said, so police aren't arriving at the scene until the perpetrator has been gone for hours. “It’s tough,” he said. “It’s a lot of just trying to predict where it’s going to happen.”

Residents have reported leaving their homes for 20 minutes and coming back to find someone attempting to break in. One victim came out of the shower to find a man in the hall, who then fled. No victims have been injured in these incidents, Connolly said.

There are persons of interest, he said, but suspect descriptions have been vague.

Without a clear pattern, aside from being mostly concentrated north of Ashmont, officers have no particular areas to increase regular patrols. So Connolly recommends double-checking to see if locks and door frames are sturdy to make it as hard as possible for someone to get into an apartment.

Suspicious noises should prompt a call to the police, and residents should be cautious about people knocking on doors asking for someone who doesn’t live there. Some burglaries involved a perpetrator working his way through three-deckers until finding and breaking into the unoccupied unit.

Be vigilant, Connolly said. The best approach is, “If you see suspicious activity or hear a loud noise, please call us,” he said.