Salt Lake police conducted a crackdown on car buglers early Friday in response to a recent rash of incidents in the area around Sears, 800 S. State.

Officers were conducting surveillance just after midnight when they watched a car pull up to another vehicle and a passenger get out, said Salt Lake police spokeswoman Lara Jones. With relative ease, the man was able to use a blank key to get into the other vehicle's locked trunk and steal a purse, she said.

The car was pulled over a short time later and two people were arrested. An 18-year-old man was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of vehicle burglary and possession of burglary tools. A juvenile who was also in the car was released to the custody of a parent.

During the same surveillance, detectives watched as another car pull into the Sears parking lot and started breaking into cars, Jones said. Two men were arrested in that incident and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of vehicle burglary.