WATERVILLE — A string of car burglaries that happened sometime in the early hours of Tuesday has spurred police to step up patrols in the area where the crimes occurred.

Deputy Chief Bill Bonney said police received 16 reports of burglaries, all in the central area of the city, throughout Tuesday. Police think the burglaries took place between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.

According to the police log for incidents reported on Tuesday, burglaries were reported on Elmwood Avenue, Front Place, Boutelle Avenue, Dalton Street and Brook Street, among others.

The police are “actively following up on leads,” Bonney said. He would not release further information at the time.

Bonney said that while 16 burglaries is “a lot for one night, I’ve certainly seen higher.”

Those who live in the area can expect an elevated police presence as officers patrol the streets and stop to talk with people.

“We deal with these issues every year when it starts getting warm,” Bonney said.

All of the burglarized cars had been left open, leaving them more susceptible to thefts, he said.

“My advice to people is lock your cars,” Bonney said. Generally, the people who do this don’t want to break windows and create noise, he said.

He also recommended that people don’t leave valuables in their cars.

Anyone with information about the car burglaries is asked to call Waterville police at 680-4700 and ask for Officer Dan Brown, who is handling the cases.

Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239

mstamour@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @madelinestamour