Richmond County sheriff's authorities say they have noticed a significant rise in burglaries this year, particularly in recent months as a souring economy has taken hold.

"A bad economy generally has an impact on why these incidents are increasing," said sheriff's Sgt. Horace Anderson. "The worse people are doing, the more you'll see increases in burglaries."

According to Richmond County sheriff's statistics, from January to August -- the most recent figures available -- there were 2,110 burglaries in the county compared to 1,809 during the same time frame last year and 1,926 for those months in 2006. For all of 2007, there were 2,876 burglaries.

Since April, the number of burglaries in Richmond County has steadily increased each month, with the greatest rise occurring in August, when there were 340 burglaries reported. That's compared to 244 and 222 for August in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Sgt. Anderson said recent burglaries in the Cambridge and Pepperidge subdivisions in south Augusta were carried out by teenagers who lived nearby.

"They broke into the houses, stole laptops, games and jewelry. Some items have been recovered," he said.

Cyrus Dion Mincey, 17, of Bremen Drive, and Jacquez Norman, 17, of Hilltop Drive, were arrested last week and remain in the Richmond County jail after being accused of stealing property from several homes in the subdivisions. Both teens face five counts of felony burglary in connection with crimes that occurred Sept. 28 and 29, according to jail records.

The burglaries were not gang-related, police said.

In Aiken County, sheriff's Lt. Michael Frank said his department saw a significant rise in burglaries in August. They investigated 116 burglaries this August compared to 79 in August 2007 and 74 in August 2006.

But the trend doesn't seem to be showing in Columbia County, where sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said he has witnessed only minor fluctuations in the past three years regarding residential and commercial burglaries.

"One burglary is too many, but it's all relative," he said, adding that the county has typically documented about 250 cases annually. "We have not experienced any dramatic increases in recent years."

Capt. Morris said there were 254 burglaries reported in his county from January through August this year compared to 227 during the same time frame in 2006 and 250 in 2007. This August, there were 33 burglaries compared to 24 in that month last year and 45 in 2006.

Capt. Morris said keeping burglary totals flat in his county is a positive reflection on police and the public considering the population growth that has occurred in Columbia County in the past decade.