Eighteen attempted and accomplished burglaries have been reported in Sycamore and DeKalb in the last three months.

The Sycamore and DeKalb police departments believe they are connected.

In each of the burglaries, the suspects used a rock or landscape brick to break the glass on a front door to enter. Money or the whole cash register is usually taken from the store.

The connection is being drawn from the time frame and similarity of the incidents, said Lt. Gary Spangler of the DeKalb Police Department.

“When you have a lot of them in a short period of time, that’s a good indicator on this type of crime that they are related,” he said.

Although they are property crimes, Spangler does not think there is a link between the string of burglaries and recent string of robberies.

“From my experience, a person that commits robberies is going to primarily stick with those type of crimes,” Spangler said. “Not that they can’t commit a burglary, but what’s different in these also is geographical locations: The robberies in the college area, and the burglaries are refined to more of a business district.”

Burglaries are typically solved by catching the person in the act, a tip, the use of fingerprints or catching the suspect on video, he said.

“It is always a plus for us if the business has a working video camera or alarm,” Spangler said.

The burglaries are being combated with increased patrols and getting the word out to businesses, he said.

Anyone with information on the burglaries is encouraged to contact the DeKalb Police Department at 815-748-8400, or CrimeStoppers at 815-895-3272.