In a rural area, people leaving may want to put in an alarm!  We had some of this going on - in city areas last year.  A for sale sign in the yard was an open invite for a crew to show up on a work day and clean out the house while the sellers were at work!

Sandy, this is a sad state of affairs! This is kind of scary. Later in the rain~Deb

If homes are vacant and look like it then yes many are getting appliances stolen and/or vandalized.