Ozaukee County sheriff: 'Be part of the #9pmroutine' and protect your family from criminals
OZAUKEE COUNTY -- The Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office is trying to get residents who live in the county to establish a daily routine -- one that protects them from becoming victims of criminals.
In a tweet published on Monday afternoon, March 19, the sheriff indicated deputies are investigating at least five trespassing complaints in the Village of Belgium that occurred over the weekend. Open garage doors and unlocked vehicles were the targets.
Jessica Anderson woke up to a mess.
Jessica Anderson
"I went outside to take my kids to school and the whole front seat of my car, there was stuff everywhere," said Anderson.
Her unlocked vehicle was rummaged through, and so was her husband's. Their garage door was cracked open, and their tablet was missing.
"Kind of scary. I have two small kids here. The whole neighborhood, they have small kids," said Anderson.
They left their car doors unlocked overnight and the Anderson family was one of six cases reported in one night.
"It's certainly something where they feel they've been violated. It's alarming in the fact that it's easily preventable -- that if people were to lock their car doors, remove their valuables and close their garage doors, that the opportunity would not be there and chances are thefts would not be occurring," said Lt. Wayne Lambrecht with the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office is suggesting residents be part of the 9 p.m. routine.
That includes locking your doors, securing all valuables and reporting any suspicious activity -- every night at 9 p.m. Officials suggest doing this nightly and getting into this routine can easily stop preventable thefts.
Lt. Wayne Lambrecht
"If you do lock your door and close your garage door, you can prevent these things from happening in the future," said Lt. Lambrecht.
Anderson said her family is joining this movement.
"We would have never thought out here. We lived in Milwaukee all of our lives and we moved out here and this is where we got it," said Anderson.
No matter where you live, what happened to Anderson's family serves as a reminder that this simple effort can make all the difference.
Meanwhile, sheriff's officials ask that anyone who may have information on the weekend incidents to please give them a call.