Sheriff Tim Gobble has placed rural Bradley County churches on ‘extra patrol’ after recent thefts of outside heating / air conditioning units in the area.

The order means patrol deputies will make regular checks of those located in the patrol zone they are covering.

In recent weeks there have been thefts from at least six churches in Bradley and surrounding counties. Inside the units the thieves are able to extract copper tubing they can sell as scrap metal. Each theft brings a loss of at least $1,000 and in some cases the value of the unit is in the thousands of dollars.

Gobble is asking the public to be on the lookout for suspicious activity and to not hesitate to call 9-1-1 if you see something out of the ordinary, especially on days and at times when services are not held.

"The public has been a tremendous help reporting suspicious activity and that has helped us to catch several people in the act of committing a crime. We are again asking for their help, " said the sheriff.

Gobble said citizens should not try to apprehend these individuals. "Get what information you can about their appearance and the vehicle they are driving, and then let us handle it."