Van burglaries continue unchecked

SOUTH GLENDALE — Thieves have continued to break into commercial work vans parked in South Glendale neighborhoods to swipe high-priced tools, and the information investigators have on the perpetrators is thin, police said.

Police warned residents about a spate of commercial van burglaries in February, when 38 burglaries had been logged since September in south, west and north Glendale.

Officers reissued their warning to South Glendale residents on Thursday at a neighborhood meeting, adding that no arrests had been made, police said.

Since February, 15 additional burglaries to work vans have been reported, Community Lead Officer Tino Saloomen said.

“These tools are their lives,” he said of the vehicles’ owners. “Without these tools, they can’t make a living, so it really hits home.”

Thieves have been targeting large white work vans, including Ford, Chevrolet and GMCs, parked on city streets, Saloomen said.

Crime analysts have determined that most work van burglaries occur on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, he said, usually between 1 and 5 a.m.

“When they come back Monday morning to go to work because they got that contract, they can’t,” Saloomen said.

Drills, saws, compressors, torches and other power tools have been stolen from inside the vans, along with navigation systems and their chargers.

Thieves have punched out locks on vehicle doors that were secluded and away from public streets. Detectives are still trying to determine the type of device being used to punch out the door locks, Saloomen said.

Rear license plates have also been removed to gain access to door locks, police reported.

“It only takes a few seconds to get inside these trucks,” Saloomen said.

He advised residents to park their work vans in a secured, well-lit parking area and to hide all personal belongings.