Full Notification

During the dates of June 7, 2021 and June 8, 2021, there was one stolen vehicle and six vehicle entries reported to the Shorewood Police Department.  Attached is a map showing the location of these incidents.  The locations are indicated by the red map pins that are highlighted in yellow.    
Additionally, between January 2021 and May of 2021, our department has taken 15 motor vehicle theft reports, which is a 275% increase in the amount of motor vehicle thefts compared to this same time period in 2020 (4 reported motor vehicle thefts) and a 400% increase when compared to this same time period in 2019 (3 reported motor vehicle thefts).    
We would like to remind everyone of the following tips to help reduce the amount of vehicle entries and motor vehicle thefts within the Village of Shorewood:

• Lock your vehicle with the windows rolled up whenever you leave your vehicle unattended, even if your vehicle is parked in your driveway or garage.
• Engage your car alarm if your vehicle is equipped with one. 
• Do not leave keys inside of your vehicle.  This includes spare keys to the vehicle, keys another vehicle you own, and/or keys to your home.  Thieves may attempt to determine what those keys will open and/or start and use them to their advantage. 
• Consider using a vehicle anti-theft device like a steering wheel lock or brake pedal lock.  These devices can prevent the vehicle from being driven and may also act as a visual deterrent. 
• Consider installing motion activated cameras on your property to monitor your vehicles/garage.  Most of these types of cameras have the ability to send an alert to your smartphone, tablet, or computer to alert you when motion is detected. 
• Avoid leaving anything inside of your vehicle that may peak a thief’s interest; even items that may seem insignificant to you (i.e. power cords/phone chargers, coins, sunglasses, an empty bag, etc.) could capture a thief’s interest. 
• If you plan to leave items in your trunk, place them there before arriving at your destination.  Thieves will watch areas at times and look for individuals placing items in the trunk of the vehicle.  If they see you place items in there, they may want to see what items were left inside.