A woman’s pet bunny saved her from being burglarized in her apartment on the 500 block of North Pinckney Street around 3 a.m. on Saturday.

“It appears the burglar went out through the back door after the victim shouted,” Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said, adding there is no indication of how the intruder broke into the victim’s house.

According to the police report, the 25-year-old victim described the perpetrator as a white, 5-foot-5-inch male around 150 pounds with short hair.

The victim said her pet bunny woke her by thumping its foot — something it does when someone is near her residence. Upon waking, she was able to scare off the intruder before anything could be stolen from her home.

“We’ve been having a burglary problem in the city going on for months now,” DeSpain said. “Many involve intruders getting in because people don’t lock their doors. People just need to lock their doors.”

Lt. Joe Balles of the Central Police District agreed with DeSpain, saying, “We’re definitely seeing an uptake in burglaries not only in the downtown area but citywide.”

There have been numerous residential burglaries around the downtown area this semester, and the MPD cannot stress enough the ways students can protect their belongings.

The MPD has arrested a few suspects in the past few weeks due to local tips, including recently catching a perpetrator who was cutting through a -window-screen, Balles said.

Although the MPD has started the “Blue Net” burglary task force to focus on tracking large burglaries and repeated offenses they think are associated with gangs, it doesn’t focus specifically on reducing residential burglaries.

Ald. Michael Verveer, District 4, previously told The Badger Herald property crimes are common downtown and are disproportionately committed against students. Students are less diligent about locking their doors, making residential burglaries simply “crimes of opportunity.”

Balles said the primary items being stolen are laptops and iPods because they are easy to sell.

“My advice to students is to protect laptops, don’t put book bags down on the ground unsupervised and go buy an external hard drive to back up all your files with,” Balles said.

The recent downturn in the economy has contributed to an increase in crime in downtown Madison, Balles said.

“A lot of [the burglaries] are being driven by the economy,” Balles said. “Stolen property becomes the market during economic times like these, and people barter these stolen goods on the streets. Students should be aware of who they buy things from and where these things came from.”

In the past month, there have been three reported residential burglaries in the downtown area, including one on State Street and one on East Gorham involving a laptop.

Balles encourages students to report any oddities or any tips on the recent burglary outbreak to the MPD.