Rising temperatures means more opportunity for criminals.

“As the weather warms people (inadvertently) create more opportunities for criminals,” noted Police Chief Nick Obligacion

Everything from vehicle burglaries to residential burglaries as well as misdemeanor thefts from yards increase as high temperatures surpass the 80-degree mark and stay there.

Vehicle burglaries become even more problematic as people lock car doors but then leave windows cracked. The same is true for house windows being left open to try and keep rooms cool when people aren’t at home.

Obligacion notes it makes it easier for burglars to break into cars as all they need to do is lift the window out and not worry about breaking it and making a tell-tale sound.

The police chief said never keep anything in view that will tempt a criminal — even an empty gym bag or empty shopping bag — since they don’t know if it is empty or not. Officers can tell you they’ve heard from victims who said the only thing thieves took was a couple of dollars in loose change left in a holder that was visible to someone looking in. That often leads to a $200 plus loss in replacing the broken window.

Thefts from garages and front yards increases as well as doors are left open or items such as bicycles are left unattended on front lawns.

Criminals in Manteca stole property valued at $4.2 million last year. That was down 12.7 percent from 2013 levels when losses were pegged at $4.8  million.