It's an easy target.

Small and typically attached with a suction cup, a Global Positioning System device can be quickly swiped from the dashboard of a vehicle.

Even if thieves have to break a window, they can be in and out in less than a minute, according to East Lampeter Township police Sgt. Marlene Leighty.

Although GPS units have become a popular item of choice for thieves all over the county, East Lampeter Township in particular has experienced a significant surge of GPS thefts in recent weeks, especially along the Route 30 East corridor.

Bandits have hit several popular tourist destinations and appear to target those with large parking lots.

"It definitely seems to be the spree crime of the moment," Leighty said. "And because it can be done so quickly, it's hard to catch them in the act."

More than a dozen GPS units, along with other items, were reported stolen during the first two weekends of this month at various businesses along the Route 30 strip.

Leighty said she's not sure what might be spurring the onslaught of vehicle break-ins but theorized the economy might be to blame.

"I'm totally speculating here, but there are a lot of unemployed people right now, people who have a lot of free time on their hands," she said. "Or maybe it's just a matter of there being more people in need."

Despite the recent spike in such thefts along Route 30, officials at Dutch Wonderland and Rockvale Square Outlets say they've seen an overall decrease this summer in the number of vehicle break-ins.

"Historically, I think we always see an increase (in incidents) during the summer simply because of the number of people that come through here each day," Bethany Alwan, marketing director at Dutch Wonderland, said.

In an effort to curb that trend, amusement park officials stepped up security measures this summer by installing additional cameras and adding a bike patrol to monitor the parking lot.

"It definitely seemed to make a difference," Alwan said. "But about two to three weeks ago, we saw these types of incidents begin to increase in frequency."

David Ober, partner and vice president of Rockvale Square Outlets, said he was not aware of a recent surge in activity and said there had been no increase in thefts compared to previous years.

"We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary," Ober said.

Ober said Rockvale utilizes armed constables, in addition to its own security personnel, to monitor the shopping center's massive parking lots.

"I think we've been a lot more active this year in our efforts," Ober said, noting that Rockvale has installed additional lighting and increased security patrols.

Both Rockvale Square and Dutch Wonderland use video cameras to monitor parking lot activity.

Leighty said she "would be very surprised" if the thefts were the work of one individual or group.

In July, brothers Alexander Carrion-Ramos and Erle Carrion-Cruz Jr., both of Lancaster, were charged with vehicle break-ins in East Lampeter and Manheim townships, but the thefts continued, picking up steam in the last two to three weeks, Leighty said.

Last week, police in Manheim Township charged three Lancaster men with a series of recent vehicle break-ins. Leighty said she's eager to see if those arrests have any effect on the number of incidents in East Lampeter.

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com