PRESCRIPTION DRUG DROP OFF

Managing unused medications is a safety as well as an environmental concern. Traditionally, we were told to flush unwanted medications down the drain or toilet rather than keeping them around so they would not be misused by the patient for the wrong symptoms or by someone else who was not prescribed the medication and who might use the drugs recreationally.

Although effective in removing the medication from potentially being misused, flushing creates a new and growing problem in the environment. Antibiotics and other medications in a septic system can destroy beneficial bacteria necessary for the system to operate. Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove or process many compounds found in medications that end up being discharged into our surface and ground water. A study by the United States Geological Survey done in 1999 showed that in 80% of the streams sampled contained detectable levels of compounds found in common medications.

Please help by disposing of your expired medications properly. If you have expired medications or  medications you are no longer prescribed please bring your medications to the Door County Sheriff’s Department at:

Door County Justice Center

1201 S. Duluth Avenue

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235

The Door County Sheriff’s Department accepts drop-offs Monday thru Friday between the hours of 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. They will accept your prescription medications and over the counter medications (pills and capsules) at the main reception area. Once there please remove all medications from their appropriate bottles and place the medications into the provided bag and close it. Then place the bag into the metal pass through where a Sheriff’s Department staff member will take the medications and secure them. These medications will then be disposed of at a secured facility several times a month.

What items are not accepted at the Door County Sheriff’s Department:

• · Liquids
• · Creams
• · Syringes
• · Lotions
• · Chemo Therapy Drugs
• · Aerosols
• · Inhalers
• · Needles
• · Thermometers

THANK YOU for your help on the war on drugs.

Burglary Prevention Tips

Have you ever been locked out of your home? Were you able to get in anyway? Now think about it…if you could break into your own home, it’s just as easy for someone else to break in, too.  Strong locks—and good neighbors who look out for one another—can be effective deterrents to burglars. Here are a few tips that can help you keep you—and your property—safe and secure.

Check Your Locks

1. Make sure every external door has a strong, well-installed dead bolt lock. Key-in-the-knob locks alone are not enough.
2. Sliding glass doors offer easy access if they are not properly secured. You can secure them by putting a broomstick or dowel in the inside track to jam the door or by installing commercially available locks. To prevent the door being lifted off of the track, drill a hole through the sliding door frame and the fixed frame. Then insert a pin in the hole.
3. Lock double-hung windows with key locks or “pin” your windows by drilling a small hole at a 45 degree angle between the inner and outer frames, then insert a nail that can be removed. You should secure basement windows with grilles or grates (but make sure that they can be opened from the inside in case of fire).
4. Never hide keys around the outside of your home. Instead, give an extra key to a neighbor you trust.
5. When you move into a new house or apartment, re-key the locks.

Check Your Doors

1. While we all like to feel that once we close and lock our doors, we’re safe and secure, the truth of the matter is that a lock on a flimsy door is about as effective as locking your car door but leaving the window down with your wallet on the front seat.
2. All outside doors should be metal or solid wood.
3. Install a peephole or wide-angle viewer in all entry doors so that you can see who is outside without opening the door. Door chains break easily and don’t keep out intruders.
4. If your doors don’t fit tightly in their frames, install weather stripping around them.

Check the Outside

1. Take a look at your home from the outside, and keep in mind the following tips to help make your home as safe as it can be:
2. Burglars hate bright lights. Install outside lights and keep them on at night. Motion-detector lights can be particularly effective.
3. Keep your yard clean. Prune shrubbery so it doesn’t hide windows or doors. Cut back tree limbs that a burglar could use to climb to an upper-level window.
4. If you travel, create the illusion that you are at home by getting timers that will turn lights (and perhaps a television or radio) on and off in different parts of your home throughout the day and evening hours. Lights burning 24 hours a day signal an empty house.
5. Leave shades, blinds, and curtains in normal positions. And make sure you don’t let your mail and/or newspapers pile up. Call the post office and newspaper to stop delivery or have a neighbor pick them up.
6. Make a list of your valuables, such as stereos, computers, and jewelry. Take pictures of the items, list their serial numbers and description. This will help police if your home is burglarized.
7. Ask your police department for a free home security survey.
8. When getting work done on your vehicle, leave only the vehicle key for the service personnel. The same goes for car park attendants and valets.
9. If you are having work done on your vehicle, give the service station your business address – not your home address.

What If I Live in an Apartment?

1. While apartment living is a little different from living in a single family home, there are still some additional things that you can do to make sure that you, your loved ones, and your property remain safe and secure. Similar to Neighborhood Watch, members of an Apartment Watch learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for one another and members of the community, and report crime and suspicious activity to the police. Some things you can do:
2. Never let anyone you don’t know into your building or past security doors.
3. Organize citizen patrols to walk around the apartment complex and alert police to crime and suspicious activities. Don’t forget to patrol parking lots, stairways, laundry rooms, and playgrounds.
4. Publish a newsletter that gives local crime news, recognizes Apartment Watch captains, and highlights community activities.
5. Have a reception in the lobby of your building or a cookout on common property so neighbors can get to know one another.
6. Start a Safe Haven Program for children – places where they can go in emergency or scary situations.
7. Check the complex on a regular basis for problems such as burned-out light bulbs, dark corridors, uncollected trash, or broken locks on mailboxes and doors. Report any such problems to the building manager. Keep pressure on management to make sure it provides adequate security.
8. Organize meetings to brainstorm how you can help each other, such as starting an escort service for the elderly.

Thefts from Autos

One of the most common types of theft is theft of valuables from your automobile. Theft from auto is strictly a crime of opportunity that can be prevented if you take away the opportunity. Thieves generally won’t waste their time breaking into autos that don’t have valuables in plain sight. Please take the precautions listed below to help ensure your auto is not targeted by thieves: Keep Your Valuables Out of Sight The best way to prevent theft from your auto is to always keep valuables out of sight. Never leave cell phones, briefcases, suitcases, or electronic devices (cell phones, iPods, laptop computers, etc.) in your car in plain view. Take these items with you, or secure them—all the time, every time. Secure Your GPS DeviceWhile many GPS devices are mounted in the dashboard of the vehicle, the SBPD encourages anyone who uses a portable GPS device to take it with you, along with any other items of value, when you park the car. Use Your TrunkIf your car has a trunk, use it. Put valuables in there or in a locked glove compartment. Hiding items under seats is better than leaving them in plain view, but securing them inside the glove compartment or trunk is a far better deterrent. Don't Tempt Thieves with New PurchasesDuring the holiday season especially, or any time you’re shopping, place packages in the trunk, not on the passenger seats or floors. Remove Your Radio Faceplate If you can unfasten your sound system and take it with you, or lock it in your trunk, do so. And don’t forget to do the same with your CDs and tapes. Lock It Up Also, keep your car doors and windows locked—all the time!

Lost Cell Phone

As many of you know cell phones have become an integral part of our lives. With that being said there are many times we misplace, lose, or our cell phone is stolen.  If this happens to you we recommend you first attempt to download "Plan B" from the Google Play market:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb&hl=en.

Note: this will only work if you have an Android based phone. Second once you login to the market you will be able to download Plan B to your lost or stolen cell phone and it will begin to send emails to you with the location of your cell phone. If you suspect the phone has been stolen please contact Police at 920-746-2450 and we will assist with recovering your cell phone.

School Starting Soon! Don't Pass School Buses

Drivers must stop on the street or highway 20 feet or more from any school bus that has stopped and is flashing red warning lights.

• This applies both to vehicles approaching from the rear and from the opposing lanes.
• All lanes of traffic must stop for the school bus, except in opposing lanes if the highway is divided with a center median.
• No vehicle may proceed until the bus resumes motion and has turned off the red warning lights.
• The stop arm on the bus is an added communication to other drivers, but the lack of an extended stop arm is not reason to pass a bus whose red lights are flashing.

In some urban areas buses will signal with yellow lights, or use red lights only in some parts of town. Motorists should observe school buses carefully for either the "pass cautiously" yellow light signal or the required full stop when a bus is flashing red lights.

A vehicle owner can be cited when the driver of a car passes a school bus illegally. A law enforcement officer need not witness this violation if the school bus driver reports it to the law enforcement agency within 24 hours. Fines can be quite high for illegally passing a school bus, but the risk of hitting a child is even higher.

Give A Tip!

A reminder to residents to continue using the "Give A Tip" web tip form, which is available on the Sturgeon Bay Police Departments Facebook Page as well as on our website located at http://www.sturgeonbaypolice.com/webtip.html.

Any information provided is completely confidential and is sent directly to investigators for review. As always we appreciate your help in solving crimes within the Community of Sturgeon Bay.

Move Over Law: Drivers must provide a safety zone for stopped law enforcement and other emergency vehicles

This time of year, law enforcement officers, tow truck operators and emergency responders are busy working on the side of highways to rescue motorists and remove vehicles that have slid off icy roads or into other vehicles. Although the frigid conditions test their resolve, the greatest danger these workers face is being hit by vehicles traveling at high speeds just a few feet away.

To protect law enforcement officers, tow truck operators, emergency responders, road maintenance workers, and others who work on the side of roadways, Wisconsin has a Move Over Law. The law requires drivers to shift lanes if possible or slow down in order to create a safety zone for a law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, fire truck, tow truck or highway maintenance vehicle that is stopped or parked on the side of a road with its warning lights flashing.

“To create a safety zone on interstate highways and other divided roads with multiple directional lanes, you must move over to vacate the lane closest to the law enforcement or other emergency vehicle if you can safely switch lanes,” says Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Stephen Fitzgerald. “If the road has a single directional lane or you can’t safely move over because of traffic, you must reduce your speed until safely past the vehicle.”

Violating the Move Over Law can be expensive as well as dangerous. A citation costs $263.50 with three demerit points added to your license.

“When drivers disregard the Move Over Law, they are putting lives at risk. Failure of motorists to create a safety zone by moving over or slowing down is one of the major reasons that motor vehicle crashes kill more law enforcement officers on duty than any other cause. Tow truck operators, highway maintenance workers and emergency responders also are killed and injured when drivers don’t move over or slow down,” says Superintendent Fitzgerald. “By obeying the Move Over Law, drivers can protect themselves, their passengers, our officers and others who work on highways from needless injuries and deaths.”