Full Notification

Over the past few weeks, law enforcement officers in the North Shore area have seen an increase in motor vehicle thefts. Most of the thefts have stemmed from vehicle owners leaving their vehicles running and unattended. While these thefts can happen at any time if the opportunity is present, a vast majority of the recent incidents have occurred in the morning hours while the vehicles were left running and unattended while “warming up.” The Shorewood Police Department would like to remind our residents to never leave any vehicle unoccupied while it is running or to leave a vehicle unoccupied with keys to the vehicle inside of it. This is continuing to be an issue, not only in Shorewood, but in surrounding communities as well. This is a complete crime of opportunity as it only takes seconds for someone to enter an unlocked, running vehicle and drive away with it. We encourage everyone to lock your vehicle and take your keys with you any time you leave it unattended. Doing so takes away the criminal opportunity described above.

To help combat these recent vehicle thefts, the Shorewood Police Department is partnering with our neighboring law enforcement agencies to both prevent these thefts from occurring and to apprehended the individuals involved in the crimes. The agencies involved in this effort have increased staffing levels and are sharing information regarding recent auto thefts to develop and identify patterns pertaining to the thefts as to better deploy resources dedicated to combating these crimes.

Lastly, we would like to solicit your assistance in combating these crimes by doing your part to remove the theft opportunity as well as by sharing information regarding these recent offenses with your family, friends and neighbors. Sharing information about the recent incidents and what can be done to prevent them will help increase the overall safety of Shorewood and the surrounding communities.