The Winnipeg Police service will be heading out into the community during the month of July to warn residents about an increased number of break and enters in the city. 

In fact, Constables Rob Carver and Tammy Skrabek said this morning break and enters increased 15 per cent from 2015 to 2016. 

Sergeant Phil Penner said when the weather gets warmer criminals are more likely to try and target homes, especially on weekends when people might be away. But he also said thieves often target homes when the owners are either in their back yard or sleeping, which highlights the importance of keeping your doors locked at all times. 

Penner says officers will be going door-to-door in the coming weeks to talk to people about the importance of home security. 

They will also be providing free home safety audits for houses in high property crime rates. 

"We're going to attend those areas and basically going to go through some crime prevention tips and information," said Penner. "If home owners are we will engage with them and they can ask us any questions about home safety and security and if they wanted we'd do a mini-audit of their home security."

"The idea behind it is to provide people with information so they can better secure their homes and property." 

The WPS says doors and windows should always be locked whether the home owners is present, sleeping or working in the yard. Break and enters are crimes of opportunity so eliminating that opportunity can go a long way in preventing these incidents. 

For more information and additional safety tips, please visit the Winnipeg Police Service Website and watch this fun video below, provided by the WPS.