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A scan of the police briefs the last two weeks may leave some wondering, who is causing all this “mischief?”

The Marco Island Police Department has received a much higher volume of reports about property damage than usual the last two weeks.

Police officer Stephan Mariani said the reports of damage to front lawn items such as statues, lights, sprinklers and particularly water pipes, is causing evening patrol officers to keep an eye out for such mischief in residential areas.

At first, Mariani said he believed it was “just a bunch of kids doing some spur of the moment mischief for a night or two.”

However when reports continued for more than a week, he said property owners may want to consider a few things to protect themselves.

Several of the mischievous complaints were regarding damage to PVC pipes in the front yard.

Mariani said property owners may want to consider concealing these “vulnerable” pipes with shrubbery or a cement box.

“After these incidents, I even considered getting one myself,” Mariani said.

The recent damage is sometimes to the sprinkler system and often to the primary water source for the home.

“Most of these people found out about the damage when they woke up in the morning and didn’t have any water,” he said.

Then a look out the front door would reveal water gushing or puddling in the front yard, he added.

The events seem to be occurring after 9 p.m. and are far enough apart that Mariani surmised the offenders may be traveling by bicycle. There have been 12 reports of similar damage in the last two weeks causing nearly $3,000 in property damage.

He said there was only one person so far to see anything.

“One woman gave a vague description of kids running away when she heard a noise,” he said.

He added that the complainant did not know what had happened until she too went to turn on the water in the morning.

Anyone with information on the “mischief” cases should contact the Marco Island Police Department 389-5050.