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KALISPELL- Flathead County is seeing a rise in break-ins at storage units and thefts from cars, but Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry says the good news is they have a few leads in the cases.

"Our detective division, as a matter of fact, as we speak today are working on some leads and I won't be surprised to find that alot of them are tied together," Curry said.

Martin Tetachuck, who runs Lakeside Mini Storage, says he hasn't seen a huge increase in storage unit burglaries, but when he does, he sees similarites.

"Just habitual criminals mainly, but the economy, now, I think is probably hurting it more, especially in the cities ... a lot of people are broke," Tetachuck said.

Both Curry and Tetachuck said the most important thing to remember when putting your items in a storage unit is to get a good lock.

Some brands have a guard over the top that can't be moved, which makes it difficult to get a bolt cutter around the lock.

"It's just good common sense to protect yourself with a high security lock that's difficult to defeat with a pair of bolt cutters, there are things you can do to help make yourself less of a victim."

Sheriff Curry wants the public to also be aware of another string of vehicle thefts that have been reported. In almost every case, the vehicle was unlocked.