Keeping crime out of your home

GREEN BAY - How can I protect myself and my family? That's a question on some Green Bay residents' minds, after a rash of burglaries a few months ago. Police say three neighborhoods on Green Bay's west side were hit. Wednesday night, police met with those residents.

While you may think crime doesn't happen in your neighborhood, police say that attitude may be exactly what invites criminals in.

"We still need to understand how we can best protect ourselves and if there's other things we can do, keep an eye on each other a little bit better," said Kim Hull, who lives in Green Bay.

Police say watching out for your neighbors is one thing you can do to reduce crime. A reduction in crime is something some of Green Bay's west side neighborhoods would like to see.

"It's getting worse," said Green Bay resident Barb Cousineau.

The Green Bay Police Department reports that from November 12th through December 13th of last year, there were 78 burglaries in the city, nearly half of them were on Green Bay's far west side.

"Most of the entries were unlocked homes, so just the simple precautions," said Lt. Bill Bongle, Green Bay Police Department.

The police department held a special meeting with neighbors, to let them know what's going on and how to prevent that type of crime in the future.

Police offered many tips, among them:

- If you come home and discover someone has broken in, wait outside, and don't touch anything inside the home.

- Write down serial numbers for electronics, that way if they are stolen, you can reclaim them.

- Keep your locked vehicle in a locked garage.

- You can get a home alarm system, but police say there are cheaper alternatives, like a door bolt. The pieces sell at hardware stores for about $10.

"The older we get the more frightened we get because we're not quite sure what's going to come next," said Cousineau.

Neighbors left the meeting with some information, and hope for a better future.

If you live in Green Bay, you can also monitor police calls made in and around your neighborhood through this Web site the police department has been working with for the last few months.

Police arrested one man in connection with the burglaries, and they are still working a number of open cases.