Householders are urged to be extra vigilant following a spate of burglaries in the past seven weeks.
Since the beginning of October, police say there were 65 burglaries in the district compared to 49 in the same period last year - an increase of 25 per cent.
The burglaries are thought to be linked as in most cases, the culprits broke in after back garden gates were left unlocked.
Police say the thieves also broke in after householders failed to double-lock UPVC doors.
Batchwood, St Stephens and Park Street suffered the most number of break-ins, with the total between them equalling 26.
Detective Inspector Peter Frost said: "As the nights start to draw in, we do tend to see an increase in burglary offences. However, this is out of the ordinary and we are directing heavy police resources to deal with the situation.
"We are following lines of enquiries that indicate some of the burglaries are linked and that offenders are travelling into the area to commit offences.
"To tackle the rise of burglaries we are increasing our high visibility patrols across the St Albans City and District and this will also include covert operations. In addition we continue to use ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) to track and put a stop to criminals crossing our boarders to commit crime.”
Chief Inspector for St Albans, Ken Townsend, said: "We are doing all we can to come down hard on those committing these offences and put a stop to them.
"However I can’t stress enough how important it is that the public help us in the fight against this burglary spike by ensuring their homes are properly secure and through taking simple precautions such as securing gates, fully locking doors and considering the further crime prevention tips."
Police are advising residents to lock all doors, windows and secure their rear garden by locking gates, sheds and ensuring no ladders or tools are left outside.
They also suggest using a timer switch on lamps or lights so that they turn on as it gets dark in the evenings and give you home a ‘lived-in-look’.
Residents are advised to take photographs of their most prized possession and register them on immboilise. Therefore in the event of it being stolen and recovered by police, it can be returned to them.
Anyone with information about the burglaries should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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