Remember last week, I'd mentioned that in Tosa, Police tell residents to call 911 when they see anything odd, out of place, suspicious?

Well, that came as timely advice.

Last week, while my wife rolled the trashcan to the curb (yes, my wife does that job .. does that make me less of a man?) .. she saw a guy, ambling down our block, perhaps talking on a cell phone.   Whatever he was doing, he spooked my wife; she came inside a bit scared, and told me she was calling the police.

I went outside to catch a glimpse from a few hundred feet away .. can't say he was that suspicious, although he did cross the street, then double back.   Honestly, I'm not sure I would have called the police.  Good thing my wife did.

45 seconds later, two WFB squads came rolling down, looking for our guy.  (Great response time from WFB!)

The next morning, on an unrelated matter, I was talking to WFB's Chief of Police, Robert Jacobs.  I asked him if he knew about this incident, and what the resolution was.

Turns out, they caught the guy, who eventually confessed that HE WAS BREAKING IN TO CARS!  A day later, the Chief emailed me thanking my wife for calling in the tip, explaining they had also recovered a stolen car.

Amazing!

The moral of this story is: CALL THE POLICE WHEN YOU SEE ANYONE OUT OF PLACE AT NIGHT.  -- REALLY.  NO, I'M NOT KIDDING.

Don't sit around, thinking, gee, I sure hope that guy is OK.  Just call 911, and have the police figure it out.  That's what they are there for.

I asked Chief Roberts if 911 is the right number to dial for something like that.  He said if you see someone outside, looking a bit odd, they need you to call 911 so they can get a squad out there immediately.  While it doesn't sound like an emergency, it's something the police want to act upon RIGHT AWAY.  That strategy paid off last week.   911 goes directly to the WFB dispatch center.  (However, Chief Roberts said if you are calling from a cell phone, 911 will go to the Milwaukee County dispatch.  Ask them to transfer the call to WFB.)

I think the biggest issue is that people just don't know to call 911 for something small, and basically hope someone else is keeping an eye on things.

Look .. this dude walked down our block of 40 homes.  Let's say he walked down three blocks just like that, walking by 120+ homes, looking for cars to break in to.  It was just after the 10pm news was ending.  Plenty of people are awake.  I'll bet AT LEAST 5 people saw him in front of their homes.   That means four people just shrugged off an out of place guy, walking down the street.

Bottom line .. WFB has had a spate of car and home break-ins in the past few months.   Make an effort.  Take a look outside your house, up and down the block.  If it's dark out .. and you see some young guy who doesn't look like a neighbor:  Call 911 and have the police look into it.  

They're not going to charge you for calling 911 on a tip that doesn't pan out.  They're going to thank you for being vigilant, making WFB a safer place.

I'll bet you've seen something out of place within the last month, and you didn't call it in, thinking it wasn't really an emergency.  NEXT TIME, DON'T JUST SIT THERE.

Don't think you're "bothering" the police with something small.  That call could turn out, like in our case last week, to lead to catching a car thief!

Make sure you read:

1. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS
   
2. WFB Picks New Trustee 
3. Grim Silver Spring Prediction .. a Local Merchant's thoughts..
4. Bits & Pieces (New Engineer, Leaf Collection, Crime .. Fire)

 Don't want to keep checking for news on this blog?  Have it delivered to your inbox, so you won't miss anything.  Free.  Click here.

Public Service Announcement .. Did you know Whitefish Bay has an ordinance that requires nearly all door-to-door solicitors to have a permit?

Ordinance 15.07 (read here) generally requires all "Merchants" selling goods, or "Solicitors" asking for donations of money or items, to apply for a permit at Village Hall. 

This permit must be displayed on a "conspicuous place" on the person, and must be presented upon the demand of any potential "customer."  (That's you.)

Furthermore .. each solicitor needs one.  So if, for example, the Victory Church, deposits a carload of guys to go around knocking on doors asking for donations, EACH of them need a permit.  The permits are not transferable.

There are two notable EXCEPTIONS:

1. No permit is needed if the solicitor is engaged solely in political or religious speech.   (But if they are asking for donations, they WILL need a permit.  Often you'll hear them initially say "we're not asking for money .. but if you'd like to subscribe, blah blah blah."  .. yeah, get a permit.)
   
   
2. No permit is necessary for RESIDENT children under 21 going door-to-door for a charitable or non-profit entity.  e.g. Whitefish Bay children can sell Girl Scout Cookies or raise money for their band trip without a permit.  But a Shorewood kid, cannot without a permit.  Nor can a Milwaukee resident ask for church donations without a permit.
   

So .. anyone like to bet that most of the dudes who ring your door need a permit, yet don't have one?

Additionally .. ringing the doorbell to see if someone is home is also a method bad guys use to discover unoccupied homes.

Next time an irritating solicitor is outside your door asking for money, ask to see their permit.   If they don't have one, call the Whitefish Bay Police (962-4619), who would be happy to inform them of the law.  

Make sure you read:

1. WFB Picks New Trustee 
2. Grim Silver Spring Prediction .. a Local Merchant's thoughts..
3. Bits & Pieces (New Engineer, Leaf Collection, Crime .. Fire)

 Don't want to keep checking for news on this blog?  Have it delivered to your inbox, so you won't miss anything.  Free.  Click here.