BLOOMINGTON - More than two dozen break-ins targeting Indians in the Twin Cities and their gold jewelry have people worried to the point of renting safe-deposit boxes or even changing addresses.

There have been 28 such burglaries since March in which entry is forced, and jewelry is stolen in most of them, said Bloomington Detective Rick Barkes, who is leading the investigation.

"The vast majority are apartments," he said, noting most break-ins are in an area north of Empire Street and east of Veterans Parkway. "No one is home at the time."

The burglars apparently favor gold jewelry, which has great sentimental, religious and cultural value for Indians, said Vinod Nambia, president of the McLean County India Association.

"Every piece of gold is very dear to us," he said.

In Normal, there was one burglary on Airport Road in late October. The residents came home, heard footsteps and found gold jewelry stolen, Normal police said.

Police are continuing to investigate, but so far there have been no arrests and no jewelry has been recovered.

"We're casting a wide net to make sure we don't miss anything," said Bloomington police Lt. Tim Stanesa.

Meanwhile, people are scared "because the culprits are at large," Nambia said. "Some have sublet their apartments and moved."

In one recent break-in, the burglar or burglars found no jewelry because it already had been taken to a bank safe-deposit box. Nambia said that prompted an "act of desperation" in which someone threw trash in a bathtub and did other damage, apparently out of spite.

Members of the Indian community have mobilized, circulating e-mails about their burglaries and signing petitions asking Apartment Mart, a Bloomington property management company, for better security.

Officials at Apartment Mart, which manages many of the affected buildings, declined to comment.

Police have heard reports of children as young as 9 or 10 years old apparently acting as lookouts or checking out potential targets. They are checking into rumors of people in cars following Indians, possibly to determine their schedules.

Starting in August, Bloomington police have held about half a dozen public education meetings, including one that drew up to 200 people, said Bloomington police spokesman Dave White.

In addition to considering safe-deposit boxes, White suggested people take photographs and keep appraisals of all valuables. That information can help police track stolen goods.

At least one local home security system company has seen a dramatic increase in calls from Indian residents in the past two months. Impressive Home Security has answered 25 service calls from Indian residents, said Tom Wynn, director of sales and marketing.

"They're all very scared right now," he said, adding he installed six alarm systems in the past week.

People are asked to contact police with any information connected with the case, even if it seems trivial.

"You never know if yours is the last little piece of information in the puzzle to solve a crime," police spokesman Duane Moss said.

Reporter Edith Brady-Lunny contributed to this story.