![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
Durham Regional police are warning residents after a string of break-ins they say were committed by suspects posing as landscapers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group has targeted at least 11 homes in Clarington since April, Const. Nicholas Gluckstein told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several more incidents have happened in Ajax and Pickering, but Gluckstein said police are still determining the exact number. He said the most recent incident happened this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suspects target homes that are backed onto parks, trails and greenspaces, police said in a post on social media platform X.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police have released an image of the suspects. They often carry landscaping or tradespeople tools, Gluckstein said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“They\u2019re really just trying to pull the proverbial sheepskin over the residents’ eyes and sneak around everybody\u2019s neighbourhood,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gluckstein said the break-ins happen during daylight hours. Police believe the suspects are targeting homes they expect to be unoccupied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In some incidents, the suspects have entered homes by smashing glass sliding doors at the back of homes, Gluckstein said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They have also used ladders from either the victim\u2019s backyard or a neighbouring yard to enter windows on the second floor, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Residents advised to stay alert, store ladders<\/p>\n
In many of these incidents, the suspects have successfully stolen a variety of items, including electronics, cash and jewelry, Gluckstein said. That includes one incident where they stole over $40,000 worth of jewelry from a home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gluckstein said police haven\u2019t had any reports of victims being threatened or injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said there have been incidents where residents were home when the suspects broke in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“When \u2026 suspects do realize that, they immediately flee the area,” he said, adding the suspects aren\u2019t looking to confront the homeowners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police are urging homeowners to make sure their doors and windows are properly secured, and to consider installing security cameras.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Residents are also asked to store tools such as ladders in places where they are not easily accessible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police say at least two suspects were involved in each incident, but they have not yet determined whether it was the same two people in every case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suspects are described as male and wearing medical masks, baseball hats, dark-coloured shorts, t-shirts and gloves. They carry backpacks and may also be carrying landscaping work tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The police investigation is ongoing, Gluckstein said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyone with information, including video surveillance footage, is asked to contact police. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-821520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}