Jason Curtis, president of the Mount-Washington Belvedere Association, which covers Mount Vernon and Mid-Town, said city police gave a presentation at their meeting earlier this month and warned people to lock windows and doors.

This spate of burglaries comes 16 months after a rapist broke into several homes in the two neighborhoods, also using fire escapes, sparking fear and extra police patrols. The rapist has not been arrested, but police said he has not struck in more than a year. Curtis said “police were unable to give us a definitive answer” as to whether old rapes and new burglaries are by the same person.

“But regardless if it’s a rapist or a burglar, people need to lock their windows,” Curtis said. “The weather is nice and people have cabin fever. They want to crack their windows and let in fresh air, but they don’t think about closing them before they leave for the day. It just makes them more vulnerable.”

Police said one of the most recent burglaries occurred March 12 the 1000 block of N. Charles St. A resident left for work at 6:30 a.m. and returned at 9:30 p.m. to find her apartment ransacked. Police did not say what was taken, but a department spokeswoman said a person scaled the outside fire escape and got in through an unlocked window.