Criminals are making tough economic times even tougher for some in the landscaping business.

Thousand Oaks police are asking residents to help solve an outbreak of landscape equipment thefts.

In the past two weeks about six such thefts have occurred. A landscaper drives up to a property with a truck full of power equipment and begins working on a lawn. When he looks back or returns to his truck, the equipment is gone. Sometimes the whole truck is missing, Capt. Randy Pentis said.

"What is being taken is the more expensive equipment," Pentis said.

Lawnmowers, blowers, weed whackers and other power equipment that are necessary for the landscaper's livelihood are disappearing while the landscaper is hard at work.

"When someone takes the tools of their trade, especially in these economic times, how are they going to work?" Pentis said.

Police are asking citizens to keep an eye out for anything suspicious going on around a landscaping truck. The "brazen" criminals, according to a police report, count on the landscaper not paying attention and no one else watching what they are doing.

"Be aware of your neighborhood. If someone is taking something off of a landscaping truck and putting in on another truck, call 911," Pentis said.

Landscapers can also be more careful.

"When a landscaper parks, he should look around and see if someone is parked on the street waiting for him," Pentis said.

Thieves are opportunists. Landscapers often do the same yards at the same time week after week, making them an easy target for thieves because their presence is predictable, he said.

Abandoned stolen trucks have been recovered, but the equipment inside of them was missing. Some of the vehicle thefts were made easier when the driver left his keys inside, Pentis said.

Residents should call 911 if they see a crime occurring or the police nonemergency number (805) 6549511 to share information.