Washington - Eight homes in the Dupont Circle area have been hit by burglars in just one week, and residents of the northwest neighborhood are growing concerned about their safety and the security of their homes.

The thieves have been climbing fire escapes and crawling through skylights and upper-floor windows to get into apartments and stealing electronics and cash, then making their escapes the same way they entered.

"I'm pretty scared that this is happening in my neighborhood; I thought that it was pretty safe in this neighborhood, but apparently not," said area resident Jeff Nestler.

Police have been doing door-to-door visits to homes in the area near Swann Street in Borderstan and Newport Place in the West Dupont area to warn residents of the crime spree. People are being told to ensure that skylights, windows, roof hatches, and fire escapes in their home, any means of ingress, are all secure. So far, all of the break-ins have happened when the apartments' residents were not home.

But Nestler explains that police told him his security system may not protect against these burglars. "According to the police it doesn't matter: these guys are professionals, so by the time a minute passes, the company calls me, they call again and then they call the police, the guy's long gone."

Residents of the neighborhood say that they appreciate the door-to-door warning, but hope for an increased police presence to serve as a genuine deterrent to the ongoing crime spree.

"Police are patrolling like mad, I see them wandering through the alleys," said resident Dan Gamber. "And cars, and bicycles -- there's a limit to how many places you can cover."

Some say that because this particular neighborhood lies in the border between two districts, Dupont Circle and U Street, they sometimes feel overlooked by the police. They are thus working with police in both districs to ensure that they are protected.

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