Locking doors to homes, garages, sheds, and vehicles are a great deterrent against criminals, however Monmouth Police Chief Joe Switzer says that does not stop everyone:
“There are some people that are being victimized that are locking their doors and that is not stopping the criminal. That is something to keep in the back of your mind, that locked door or window is not necessarily going to stop that person all the time. It is a good deterrent, but there are people out there that really want to get in a take something. It does not matter what it is, there are going to do whatever they can to make that happen. Obviously, if you are at home and something like that is occurring, call 911 right away so we can get people there. Sometimes these happen when you are not at home. I would say if you are a neighbor and you see something like that, it goes back to if you see something, say something.”
Timeliness of notifying local law enforcement is key to interrupting an ongoing incident. Also, Chief Switzer reports more and more homeowners are utilizing surveillance cameras that are motion activated and send an alert to your cell phone.