Bring in your air conditioners, lock up your windows and keep an eye on the neighbors' place when they're away, said Captain John Greland of District C-11. Break-ins for the last two months are at a 3-year high in his district.

"Around 71 percent of them occur during the day," said Greland. "Most of the entry is through the side and the rear. They push in the A/C unit, they force the door or they force the window."

The most affected areas are in Bowdoin/Geneva, Jones Hill and the area around Ashmont and Peabody Square. Greland added that it wasn't just C-11 seeing a bump in break-ins, and a report on burglary and attempted burglary from the Boston Police Department confirms that area B-3 has jumped from 204 in 2006, to 257 in 2007 for the year so far. District B-3's Captain James Claiborne did not return calls requesting comment.

For the three months prior to Friday, Sept. 21, 2006, said Greland, there were 77 break-ins in District C-11. For the same period in 2007, there were 146.

Police nabbed one suspect on Sept. 19, after the woman set off a house alarm on Washington Street.

"When they were searching the basement, one of the officers opened up the dryer, and there she was," said Greland, "all 5 foot 6 and 140 pounds of her. I don't know how she got in there."

The woman also had outstanding warrants for larceny, sex for a fee and violating a restraining order.

Officers in District B-2 also made arrests Aug. 7 when two individuals were found with bolt-cutters behind Big Load Laundry on Blue Hill Avenue.

Another statistic with a significant change over last year is homicide, which dropped from 12 in 2006 to 5 for the year so far in C-11, but rose from 13 to 17 in B-3. District B-2 remains the same, at 16 for both years. Citywide, the numbers are 54 homicides for 2006, and 50 this year.