A reported 18 burglaries or attempted burglaries had been recorded in Cromwell since January, including 10 in Cromwell's heritage precinct.
Constable Darren Kidd, of Cromwell, said a total of about $2000 had been taken during the burglaries. Money had been taken in about half the places targeted.
''They are targeting tills and money - that is it,'' he said.
''The odd thing is they're breaking into places that have no cash and then leaving. They're not particularly clever about what they're doing.''
The last break-in was a fortnight ago, Const Kidd said.
CCTV footage of two burglars had been captured and a video of one was shared on the Southern District Police Facebook page yesterday.
The footage suggests two people had been responsible for about 14 of the robberies in the area this year, Const Kidd said.
The 10-second clip of one of the break-ins shows a hooded person lifting a computer monitor from a red counter before running out of shot.
It was unclear from the video if anything was taken.
''If somebody can identify the person in that hoodie, please make contact with the police,'' he said.
''We're not talking big corporate companies here. We're talking self-employed, hard-working people that have been targeted.''
