LIVERMORE FALLS — Police said the number of copper pipe thefts from area homes has climbed to 10, including one on Jones Road on Monday.

The home was checked at 6 p.m. Sunday and the copper was stolen overnight, police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said Tuesday.

Two other such thefts were reported on Pine Avenue and Otis Street over the weekend.

More people are calling to report suspicious activity since the theft reports began July 5, he said.

“People are watching out for themselves and their neighbors,” he said.

The thieves are getting more daring, Steward said.

The thefts began at vacant homes that were not checked for a while, the chief said. Houses are broken into and copper pipes from the plumbing and heating systems cut and ripped out. In one case, he said, a carpenter was doing work and locked the place for the night. The next morning, the new copper pipes had been stolen, Steward said.

Other houses stripped of copper are on Moose Hill Road and Pleasant, Sewall, Knapp and Wheeler streets.

The value of the pipes is over $2,500, he said.

Police have collected evidence from the homes and are having it tested for DNA, Steward said.

dperry@sunjournal.com