NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2009
Contact: Michele Nicholson
Public Information Officer
(850) 651-7420
LOCK, TAKE, HIDE CAMPAIGN UNVEILED
The Okaloosa County
Sheriff's Office is launching a new public awareness campaign called "Lock,
Take, and Hide" to encourage residents and tourists alike to remember to lock
your cars, take your keys, and hide your belongings.
Businesses can
purchase signs for only $12 to put up in parking areas or other spots,
and can have their individual business
logos portrayed on each sign.
Destin Sheriff's
Investigator Stefan Vaughn and Crime Prevention Specialist Ashley Bailey worked
together on the campaign, based on a similar successful project in Dallas,
Texas.
Investigator Vaughn
says many car break-ins are crimes of opportunity. Someone spies something
inside a car such as an I-Pod, CD's or a camera and tries the door to see if
it's unlocked. In 80 percent of the cases reported in Okaloosa County in 2008,
it was. Nearly 38 percent of the 726 reported car burglaries last year took
place in Destin.
For information on
acquiring signs or other informational materials on the "Lock, Take, Hide"
campaign, contact Ashley Bailey at 651-7153.