For many, renting an apartment may be a way to enjoy maintenance-free living; but police say there's still some work you'll need to put in.

They say crime prevention is one thing renters don't think much about, and some renters are learning the hard way.

Police say two apartments were broken into over the weekend at Hurwich Farms Apartments off Portage Rd. in South Bend. The tenants were not home at the time.

Police aren't calling the break-ins a trend but they say, like homeowners, renters also need to take some steps to protect themselves.

Crime prevention officers say many of the steps are of course, simple.

“Checking doors, checking windows, sliding glass doors; making sure when you leave everything is locked. Even if you're going down to the laundry room for just a few minutes,” said Sgt. Lee Ross with the South Bend Police Department.

Police say the two apartments that were broken into over the weekend were locked up tight.

“In some cases everything is done right; they just continue to beat the door kick it in or pry it open until it is open,” Ross said.

Police say there is another step that can be taken that could have helped in the weekend break-ins.

“Most important is getting to know your neighbors. That way, if you know your neighbors, someone’s sneaking around your house playing with your doors things like that, they’ll call police,” Ross said.

They say it's possible burglars may stake out apartments to see when people are gone, but it's more likely they'll just walk up and knock on the door. If no one answers, they'll make their move.

Police say you can leave a light or TV on while you’re gone, to make someone knocking on the door think you're home.

They also say you need to be careful answering the door, even if you think you know who it is, use the peep-hole to double check.

They also say you should get renter's insurance, and that apartment complexes may allow you to put in an alarm system if you want.

“You’d really only need to get 2 doors secure, the front door and your sliding glass door so it can be very inexpensive,” Ross said.

Meantime, an area apartment manager says another major problem is apathy.

Renters think theft won't happen to them, so they let their guard down.
They don't report suspicious activity, leave doors unlocked, or even just leave them wide open.

They say even if you're up on the second or third floor, that doesn't mean you're immune to a burglary.

In fact police say sometimes burglars will target those units because people are more likely to leave their sliding doors open on the balcony; and that saves them the trouble of actually breaking in.