Police are warning tradesmen to ensure they keep valuable tools out of sight after two more vehicles were broken into last night.
Inspector Craig Dinnissen, of Dunedin, said a total $4500 of tools had been removed from two work vehicles in the Brighton and Calton Hill areas, in what appeared to be an "opportunistic" theft.
The perpetrator had smashed windows to get into the vans.
The thefts appeared to be part of an ongoing trend, Inspector Dinnissen said.
While tools were heavy they were often in kitbags which made them easier to steal, Inspector Dinissen said.
Parking work vehicles in driveways did not deter offenders.
Last month police put out an alert about vehicles being broken into in parts of Dunedin through August and continuing into September.
Tools from tradies' vans, cars and building sites were targeted across various Dunedin suburbs, including Maryhill, Belleknowes, Green Island, Mosgiel, Dunedin Central and Tainui.
At the time, police encouraged tradies to get their tools engraved with their driver licence numbers.
"Parking vehicles out of sight, removing valuable items over weekends, securing tools inside vehicles with chains and padlocks or even a tarp thrown over the top of them can be useful deterrent," Inspector Dinnissen said at the time.
elena.mcphee@odt.co.nz
