With the knowledge of continual breaking and entering incidents occurring Allston, several residents of the area said the robberies are a characteristic component of the local culture.

Frank Hughes, civilian community service officer at the Boston Police Department, said the large presence of college students in the area increases the amount of robberies.

“College students are a huge target for B&E [breaking and entering] suspects and the reason being is each one of them usually has a laptop, iPad, iPhone and any kind of music system or anything else with a lot of high-end electronic equipment that’s easy to transport easy to sell and remarket,” he said. “They definitely target college students.”

In the past week, there were 12 reported breaking and entering crimes in the Allston area with six robberies occurring Monday, according to crime logs from BPD.

The police responded to a call at about 3:15 p.m. Monday when a witness stated he returned to his apartment and noticed two males in the rear exit staircase of his residence. One of the suspects held a screwdriver and when asked why they were there, they fled the scene and ran towards Commonwealth Avenue. Another residence within the building was broken into as well, according to crime logs released Monday.

Aside from their electronics, Hughes said robbers also target college students because they are inexperienced with living on their own and they will often leave their windows open and doors unlocked when they go out.

“If we can get them to lock their doors and windows, we would reduce it [break-ins] at least 10 to 20 percent,” he said. “It is the biggest problem by far.”

He said students install air conditioning devices in their windows during the warmer months of the year and if they are not secured, robbers can push them out of the windows and enter the residence.

Another contributing factor to the abundance of robberies in Allston is that residents do not know everyone who lives in their building and will often let strangers inside, Hughes said.

Some students who live in Allston said they are aware of the many robberies.

“I don’t feel particularly safe, but I feel safe enough to live in such a cheap area,” said Mark Macchi, a College of Arts and Sciences senior at Boston Univeristy. “I know what I’m getting into.”

Macchi said an apartment in his building was broken into and, since then, he and his roommates make sure they lock their apartment.

“My apartment was actually broken into. Not mine personally, but the girls on the first floor, so we make sure to keep our back door locked and we check that every night,” he said. “I feel that maybe the BU Police should be monitoring the area a little bit more, especially as there has been so many break-ins recently.”

CAS sophomore Leah Ellner, an Allston resident, said she feels safer in the neighborhood now that she has lived there for some time.

“For most of the break-ins I’ve heard people just leave their doors open, so I wasn’t too concerned,” she said. “I’m not naïve about it. I know it happens, but I’m not frightened.”