EDWARDSVILLE • An Edwardsville police officer is accused of doing double duty as a serial burglar.

Authorities announced Friday that Officer Brian Barker, 41, had been charged with a dozen counts of burglary, one count of residential burglary, and aggravated unlawful possession of stolen firearms.

The arrest is the latest in a string of problems for the Edwardsville Police Department, which saw its own police chief, James Bedell, indicted and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in 2013 for embezzling $140,000 from the city.

Barker’s alleged burglary spree became exposed on Sunday after he was identified through security equipment at the Reality Salon and Spa in Edwardsville. Barker, in uniform and on duty, was suspected of stealing $450 from the cash register there.