CRESTVIEW — An increase in car burglaries has led to a new means of deterring area crime.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office stated in a Nov. 21 Facebook post, "Someone's responsible for a rash of car burglaries in the Brickhill Court area north of Crestview where money, electronics, and other items were taken!"
Stolen items also include clothing and an iPad, according to OSCO Public Information Officer Michele Nicholson. Officers recovered the iPad at a woodline in the neighborhood, but there are no current suspects.
OSCO Crime Prevention Manager Ashley Bailey said car burglaries in Crestview have spiked since August, mainly "… because we still have over 85 percent of vehicles to 90 percent of vehicles that are unlocked in Okaloosa County."
The simplest way residents can prevent car burglaries, Bailey said, is to follow three steps: "Lock Take Hide: Lock their car, take their keys, hide their belongings. We see a lot of people leaving stuff in plain view, so we have the smash-and-grabs to get those items."
Nextdoor, a neighborhood-based social media program, is a helpful tool to deter crime, according to the OCSO.
"The sheriff's office actually vetted them and looked at Nextdoor for almost a full year — eight months — before we decided to partner with them,” Bailey said. “It's for Neighborhood Watch specifically. Where Facebook is for everything and Twitter is for everything, Nextdoor is for neighborhoods specifically. Nextdoor was actually developed for individuals and neighborhoods to communicate with each other and get to know their neighbors.”
The sheriff's office can use Nextdoor to alert residents of area occurrences ranging from lost pets to crime. Membership is free, password protected and inaccessible to search engines.
“The really brilliant thing about Nextdoor is they actually do address verification, so if you don't actually live in that neighborhood, you actually cannot be part of the community,” Bailey said.
Anyone with information on the Brickhill Court burglaries may contact the OSCO, 651-7410, or Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers, 863-TIPS (8477).
This is the entire post the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office put online Nov. 21:
Someone's responsible for a rash of car burglaries in the Brickhill Court area north of Crestview where money, electronics, and other items were taken!
The OCSO is involved with a program that helps neighborhoods share information that could impact the safety of you and/or your belongings.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is now partnering with a private social network to create safer, stronger neighborhoods through a virtual neighborhood watch of sorts.
The joint effort with Nextdoor allows the OCSO to communicate with specific neighborhoods to share information ranging from public safety alerts to lost pets. Residents using Nextdoor also typically post local services, community events, and other items of interest to their neighbors.
“From a law enforcement standpoint, Nextdoor is a great tool. It lets people know what’s happening where they live and allows them a chance to collaborate on neighborhood watch efforts to combat crime,” said Sheriff Larry Ashley. “Being able to better know your neighbors and easily share information will boost safety and build stronger neighborhood connections.”
“The OCSO will be able to post information to Nextdoor websites, which is free for residents”, added OCSO Crime Prevention Manager Ashley Bailey. “For example if burglars are targeting a specific area, we can send alerts to those residents, remind them to take precautions, and give them valuable burglary prevention tips.”
Each Okaloosa County neighborhood has its own private Nextdoor neighborhood website accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. Neighborhoods establish and self-manage their own Nextdoor website and the Sheriff’s Office will not be able to access residents’ websites, contact information, or content. In addition all members have to verify that they live within the neighborhood and information shared is password protected and cannot be accessed by Google or other search engines.
To sign up or learn more about Nextdoor visit www.nextdoor.com or contact Crime Prevention Manager Ashley Bailey at 259-0031, or Crime Prevention Specialist Weston Moreno at 850-651-7410.
OSCO Facebook post about Crestview car burglaries
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3 ways to prevent Crestview's car burglary problem