A lengthy investigation into a burglary crew netted more than a half-dozen arrests, and a reminder for business owners everywhere, Sheriff’s Station officials said.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies offered a few tips for business owners, following the arrests of a burglary crew suspected of having victims from San Diego to Santa Barbara.

A few suggestions for business owners:

1. Leave the register open and empty, so that anyone could see there’s no cash inside
2. The doors might get broken into by thieves wanting to look in and see, but the best way to discourage that is to not leave anything valuable out, if possible
3. Bolt your safe down
4. If you invest in an audio alarm, use one that links directly to local law enforcement, not all audible alarms automatically contact police
5. If your business is in a strip mall, talk to the property owner about the video surveillance for the lot
6. Talk to the strip mak owners and see about getting cameras in the parking lot
7. If you are going to invest in a video camera system, make sure:

1. The video it produces is high definition, or as clear as possible for ID purposes
2. Make sure the video system records — many create loops that self-erase
3. Make sure you know how to use the equipment you install
4. Make sure the area around your camera is well-lit and working periodically if they are sensor-activated

The arrests were made by detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau Burglary/Robbery Task Force members, who gathered information from two Santa Clarita Valley burglaries last month.

Deputies suspect the thieves first tipped off detectives in a series of burglaries March 16, when El Trocadero and The Habit were both burglarized.

Detectives with the LASD Burglary Robbery Task Force don’t usually investigate commercial burglaries.

However, what was unusual about the case is that task force detectives learned law enforcement agencies from Oceanside PD to Long Beach to north of Santa Clarita were sharing information about commercial burglaries that all had similar MOs, said Sgt. Mike Maher, a detective with the Burglary Robbery Task Force.

The nature of the series of crimes, such as certain businesses being targeted at certain, allowed detectives to develop a theory about the crew, which was assisted by information from the Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood Division — also investigating similar crimes, a commercial burglary crew. Police officers shared a partial plate for a silver Saturn SUV that matched witness descriptions (where available) consistently enough that detectives began to look at the vehicle as a possible link.

During the course of their investigation, detectives learned information about the vehicle’s whereabouts, and followed it all the way to two burglaries in the city of Santa Barbara, which took place during the early morning hours Sunday.

While the burglary suspects were arrested, the outcome shows the difference in not only what happens when citizens say something, but also when business owners take a few extra steps.

In the first of two burglaries detectives followed the thieves to, a loud alarm scared off the thieves. At the second location, a smashed cash register was found discarded outside the restaurant.

The total take for the thieves was about $300, which was taken from the register at the second location, while the first location suffered vandalism in addition to losses not yet reported by law enforcement officials. Sheriff’s detectives are working with SBPD on the investigation.

All six suspects, all of which are being held in lieu of $120,000 bail with a special order that would compel the criminals to show where their funds for bail came from, are due back in court in Santa Barbara in April 20.