Community Roll Call

With some recent incidents there seems to be more concern on how to stay safe. Below are some things that should be considered.

• Do you have a "Block Watch" organized on your block? If you do not and would like to meet your neighbors, learn how to recognize crime and team up to take a stand against it in your neighborhood; then contact the Wauwatosa Police Department’s Community Support Division at 414-471-8430 ext. 111 for information and help getting started!
• Do you want to reduce your chances of being the victim of a crime? Then contact the Wauwatosa Police Department's Community Support Division and schedule a home or business security survey. Although we cannot guarantee you will not be the victim of a crime we can make suggestions to make your home more secure and take away the "Bad Guy's" opportunity. Let's keep the bad guys off of our streets.
• Residents are reminded to lock and properly secure their homes, garages, vehicles and businesses. Please remember, and remind your neighbors to call 911 immediately if they see any suspicious people or vehicles.
• Never leave anything of value in plain sight in your vehicle or home.
• You are reminded that if you are the victim of a crime you should report that crime immediately! Delay in reporting hampers investigation and lessons the chance of making an arrest and recovering property.

Regarding suspicious persons or activities, read below

First of all “Suspicious” is not a stranger walking up our street. But that same stranger walking back and forth, hanging around, looking up and down driveways, looking into cars or looking into homes; now that is suspicious. A vehicle that is unknown to our neighborhood that drives up our street is not suspicious. But if that same vehicle is continually driving up and down the street, or through the alley or parked in the driveway of an unoccupied house; now that is suspicious. How about the movers, plumber or cable guy at your neighbor’s house while they are away on vacation? Suspicious? I would think so. Now of course, this small paragraph does not identify all the possible activities that can be suspicious; you will have to be the judge in most circumstances, trust your intuition.

If it is suspicious, it does warrant a call to the police department. That is an immediate call, do not hesitate. The sooner you call the sooner we can respond and hopefully contact the person or persons involved in the suspicious activity. As a police officer there is nothing more frustrating than receiving the call about suspicious activity 10 -20 minutes after it was observed. And worse than that is talking to the neighbors after a burglary or other such crime and finding out that a clearly suspicious person or vehicle was observed in the area, but that person did not want to bother the police.

You, the citizens of Wauwatosa, are our best law enforcement asset.