It was that all-too-familiar nauseating feeling.

Another tenant had just made another call informing the 56-year-old Santa Fe man that the home he's owned on the north side for the past 30 years had been burglarized again.

This time, burglars hopped an eight-foot fence he had erected around the property and used a crowbar to get through an exterior door, ignoring the blaring alarm installed after a prior burglary. The intruders swiped a television and were gone before anyone saw them.

The early August crime was the sixth time the property he rents out had been burglarized since late 2008.

"The tenant called me right after they called the police," the homeowner said. "I was there within 10 minutes and even though I've sort of grown prepared for these calls, as I was driving over there, I just felt sick."

The gut-wrenching feeling is born from the same frustration thousands of Santa Feans feel each year after their home, car or business is burglarized.

According to statistics released by the Santa Fe Police Department, that growing frustration mirrors the growing number of property crime.

The first half of 2010 saw total burglaries rise in Santa Fe 9 percent compared to the same time in 2009, but residential and commercial burglaries actually saw a modest dip (both decreased by 9 percent).

It is the drastic increase in auto burglaries — up 28 percent through June 30 — that is driving the overall burglary numbers.

From Jan. 1, 2009, through June 30, 2009, there were 476 auto burglaries reported to Santa Fe police, an average of 2.6 per day. Through that same period this year, there were 609 auto burglary reports filed, a jump to 3.4 reports per day.

Santa Fe police Sgt. Peter Neal, who heads up the eight-person property crimes division, says whether it's the economy or other factors, his unit believes the 28 percent spike in auto burglaries has a lot to do with the ease of the crime.

While home or commercial burglaries may net more profit, they also involve more risk of getting caught. And, all-too-often, car owners continue making themselves easy targets, leaving iPods, purses, GPS devices and even laptop computers in plain site.

"We've seen videos of auto burglaries where the guy is in and out in 15 seconds," Neal said. "People may not be getting as much money for what they're stealing from a car as compared to the big items like televisions or jewelry from a home, but they're able to do more, quicker and with far less chance of getting caught."

He added that police are seeing some new, younger criminals hit cars and also a growing number of first-time offenders — maybe even some people feeling they're being forced to resort to crime to turn a quick buck.

Overall, however, it's the same old faces.

"I don't have a problem with any specific judge or prosecutors or the jail," Neal said, "but the bottom line is, when we are able to put a case together and make an arrest on these guys, they're getting out on appearance bonds and not even paying anything to get out of jail. We see the same guys over and over. That drives me crazy."

Downtown and the north and east sides of town seem to have been hit the hardest, including a 65 percent increase in burglaries in Area 9 (the downtown Plaza area). Auto burglaries in particular nearly tripled in the downtown area in the first half of 2010 compared to the first half of 2009.

On the other side of the coin, however, the central, south and southwest areas of town saw decreases in burglaries.

Police Chief Aric Wheeler said as police target different areas to enforce, the problem "unfortunately just shifts around to other areas of the city."

That is why the department plans to implement various new operations and strategies, but the main tool in fighting property crime, according to Neal, is a vocal, aware and nonapathetic community.

"I tell people at Neighborhood Watch meetings all the time to stop feeling bad about calling in that suspicious car in the neighborhood, about speaking up about what they see," Neal said.

As for the auto burglaries, Neal said the answer is far more simple.

"Our auto burglaries would plummet to almost nonexistence if everyone in this city would stop leaving valuables in their cars," Neal said.

"I promise you that if these guys were breaking into cars and all they saw over and over again were (registration and insurance) papers in the glove box and nothing else, they'd absolutely stop hitting all these cars."

Until then, though, Neal can't blame the people of Santa Fe for feeling frustrated. It's a feeling the oft-victimized north-side resident says he hopes will change soon.

"I have the utmost respect for police," the man said. "I know how thin they are and how few detectives they have working (in the property crimes division). I feel for them and want to do anything I can, save joining the force, to help stop this.

"At some point, something has to get done. This just has to get better because it's beyond frustrating. It's just sad."

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3076 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com.