The time of day doesn’t matter to thieves when they see an easy score just waiting for them in the passenger seat of a parked car.

Three vehicles were broken into Monday at around 10 a.m. in the parking lot of the YMCA on Howard Road in Gainesville.

“In all three cases a window was broken out and in all three cases there were purses taken from the vehicles,” said Cpl. Kevin Holbrook, community relations officer with the Gainesville Police Department.

“The purses were in plain view in the vehicle, which typically does pose a problem because that is advertising yourself to criminals.”

The case is still under investigation by the criminal investigations division.

One of the victims, who asked not to be named, said she was just going inside for an hour to exercise while her daughter earned some volunteer credit.

“Normally I put my purse in the trunk but I was kinda running behind schedule. I’m thinking ‘she’s only going to be there for an hour; it’ll be all right,’” she said.

She said they were shocked to see that her car window had been smashed in broad daylight outside of a busy gym.

The thief stole her purse, wallet, cellphone and credit cards. She said she has had to cancel all her cards and put out fraud alerts. She said she and her husband had to change the locks on their house.

“We are afraid and I am afraid now because the person knows where I live,” she said.

Holbrook said criminals will often target gyms where they know the victim will be inside for a while and might leave valuable items such as purses, iPads or wallets behind.

He said criminals will often walk through a parking lot and peek into vehicles to see which ones will be the easiest to take from. Anything of value left in plain view is encouragement for this kind of criminal.

Holbrook said that the Gainesville Police Department has been trying to combat this type of theft.

The biggest thing, he said, is for people to try to protect their belongings themselves.

He said people can protect their belongings by locking them in the trunk where they’re safely out of sight or by taking their belongings inside. In a gym setting, valuables are safest when they’re locked inside a locker.

“It’s an issue that, of course, is all over the state and unfortunately many people learn a lesson the hard way,” Holbrook said.