The Lawrence and Riley County police departments have teamed up to provide college-town residents advice on how to make their residences more secure when leaving town for holiday breaks.

In a joint news release, the two law enforcement agencies reminded Lawrence and Manhattan residents that criminals are willing to take advantage of the large number of apartments and homes that are empty during academic breaks in the two university towns.

The departments said residents should keep their doors and windows closed and locked, unplug their overhead garage door openers while out of town for extended periods of time, keep their valuables well hidden, record the serial numbers of their electronics and guns, and ask reliable friends or neighbors to watch their homes while they’re away. When returning home, residents should also not enter a house or apartment if something looks wrong or different, but should instead go to a safe place and call police, the release said.

The departments also cited a string of 12 rapes and two attempted rapes since 2000 in Lawrence and Manhattan in their release, reminding students that all but one of the attacks occurred during a break in the academic calendar. In many of the incidents, Riley County Police Department Director Brad Schoen said at a July news conference, a masked intruder entered a victim’s off-campus residence, mostly between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., and threatened the victim with a handgun. The departments are jointly investigating the incidents.