A rash of stolen license plates in the Van Nuys area has police taking action. They’re handing out anti-theft screws to the public Saturday morning.

Los Angeles Police Detective Linda Lowande tracks all the license plates stolen each week around Van Nuys. She said it's generally more than 200 a year. 

"I average anywhere from three to half a dozen a week," she said.

Lowande's been an auto detective for more than 20 years and said make and model doesn’t matter. Thieves go for easy targets.

"Criminals steal them to pretty much mask any type of criminal activity they’re doing," she said, adding that someone can take a license plate in less than a minute. 

She and her partner showed how someone could easily steal license plates to hide their tracks, but with anti-theft screws, it becomes a different story.

"It’s almost impossible for them to remove the screws with a standard screwdriver," she said.

Lowande's department will be handing out and installing those screws for free on Saturday. They require a special type of Allen wrench to remove, ultimately scaring off most thieves.

"He may try to bend it. He may try to damage it, but the whole purpose of these screws is it’s a deterrent," Lowande said.

After years on the force, she has a fairly good idea of how criminals operate.

"He’s not going to spend a whole lot of time trying to take off a plate he can’t get off," she said.

So simply having the right tools in place can help keep drivers from becoming a victim. 

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 16 behind the Van Nuys commmunity police station on Tyrone Avenue near Victory and Van Nuys boulevards. 

Drivers can also buy anti-theft kits online or at their local auto parts store.