JOHNSTOWN - Fulton County Sheriff's Department officials said last week they have seen a marked increase in the number of burglaries throughout the county.

From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the department received 97 reports of burglaries, a nearly 28 percent increase from the 76 cases reported for the same period in 2008. The burglaries reported are for areas of the county outside the cities of Johnstown and Gloversville.

"The only reason we can think of is that it's the economy," Undersheriff Kevin Lenahan said. "A lot of times, they're taking what they need."

Lenahan said larcenies in Fulton County, not including the cities of Gloversville and Johnstown, also are up. In the last six months, his agency has had 183 larceny reports, up from 80 in the six months prior, Lenahan said.

Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira said there could be two notable reasons for an increase.

"My gut instinct would be the economy, but it may also have to do with high instances of substance abuse in the county," she said.

In Montgomery County, Undersheriff Jeffery T. Smith said while his office has not seen a large increase in burglaries over the past year, investigators there do handle burglaries regularly.

Smith said his agency often works with state police to make burglary arrests. He said while some of the burglaries may be drug- or economy-driven, many times his agency deals with career criminals who have considerable criminal backgrounds.

"A lot of the people we have arrested just have extensive criminal histories and take advantage of the system," he said.

Capt. James Lorenzoni at the Gloversville Police Department said officers in Gloversville respond to burglaries each year. So far this year, there have been 88 burglaries reported. In 2008, there were 120 for the year.

"We're only at the end of October so that's a factor," Lorenzoni said. "We might have more larcenies during the holidays."

Lorenzoni said burglary statistics jump from year to year and can vary by as much as 50 percent.

"There's no rhyme or reason to it," he said. "This year, we had a string of home invasions, and that was a very intensive investigation."

In January, the First Presbyterian Church on West Fulton Street in Gloversville was burglarized. A staff member at the church said the burglar broke several interior doors, caused damage and may have stolen a small amount of cash and food from the food pantry. The staff member said the church had been broken into before.

Gloversville resident Michael W. Johnson, 30, was arrested and pleaded guilty to that burglary, as well as several others at local churches.

Based on the increase, officials are encouraging municipalities and business owners to register for the Fulton County Sheriff's Department's office property-check program. The program sends patrol officers to check those buildings registered with the program to make sure no suspicious activity is taking place while the space is vacant.

Sheriff Thomas Lorey said to sign up for the program, property owners must contact the sheriff's office with information about the address, a description of the property, the length of absence, contact information and any other pertinent information.

To sign up for the program, those interested can visit the office on Route 29 in Johnstown or call 736-2100.