Westfield Police are looking for the thieves who stole a prized piece of Stanley Park over the weekend.

"I find it not only sad, but very disturbing," said one Westfield resident about the theft at Stanley Park. That neighbor's feeling is the consensus among Westfield residents when they see the stone pillars at the entrance to Stanley Park stripped of their bronze plaques. "They shouldn't vandalize people's property, its state property here, if you want to come up here and enjoy the park, come up here and enjoy it, don't wreck it."

Westfield Police say the bronze plaques were stolen from the Western Avenue entrance over the weekend. Police are looking for any information on who stole them. "We suspect it takes a while to take the plaques off of the pillars. For someone to take them out, it had to be a considerable amount of work to do it," said Lt. Hipolito Nunez.

The park and the plaques are considered a hallmark of the city. "Somebody not only took them from the park, but from the community, its sad to see someone would stoop to that level," said Lt. Hipolito.

Police say replacing the plaques will be costly, so they are increasing patrols as well as the private security officers inside the park. With the price of scrap metal at an all time high, Westfield Police are hoping the signs can be found, before they're melted down.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 562-5411.