BROOKVILLE — Mayor Chuck Letner gave the oath of office to Darren Wagner who became the city’s newest police officer.

According to police chief Doug Jerome, Wagner, who holds dual citizenship in Australia and the United States, was recommended for the job by Brookville police officer Forest Wilson.

“I always ask our troops when we have a vacancy, is there anybody who knows of somebody looking for a police job,” Jerome said.

“Forest Wilson said I have a great friend who has been out two years, which still made him eligible to come work for us,” Jerome continued.

Present for the ceremony were members of Wilson’s family, including his father, who

is a former law enforcement officer from Australia.

In other matters, Jerome recently issued tips to residents on how to keep vehicles and valuables inside the vehicle from being stolen.

Jerome said he issued the tips after conducting research on a campaign entitled “Lock it or Lose it” that is promoted by law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The purpose of the campaign is to encourage drivers and passengers to take precautions to protect their vehicle and the vehicle contents from being stolen.

The tips provided by Jerome are:

• always keep your valuables out of sight or in the trunk

• never leave valuables in an unattended vehicle

• always lock your vehicle

• remove garage door openers from vehicle at night

• notify law enforcement immediately of any suspicious activity

Jerome noted an incident recently took place in a community north of Brookville where items were stolen out of vehicles.

Jerome said several individuals exited a vehicle and began to check to see if the doors of vehicles parked on the street and in driveways were unlocked.

Jerome said when they found an unlocked door, they took anything that was found inside the vehicle.

Jerome also noted his department is investigating the recent theft of a vehicle due to a vehicle that was left unlocked.

“We just had an incident where the owners of two cars left the key fob to one of the two vehicles inside one of the vehicles which resulted in one of the vehicles being stolen,” Jerome said.

“In that situation, there was nothing we could do about it. Make sure you lock your vehicle,” Jerome advised.

Jerome said in the case of the stolen vehicle, a neighbor saw someone around the vehicles, but didn’t alert the police until eight hours later.

“That doesn’t do us much good when the crime is reported eight hours later. If they had dialed 911,we could have been there very quickly,” Jerome said.

Jerome also said most people don’t think about taking their garage door opener into the house when they park their vehicle outside.

“If you leave your garage door opener in the vehicle where it can be seen, even when the vehicle is locked, the thief will break the car window, take the garage door opener and have an immediate opening to your garage and possibly your house,” Jerome said.

For all emergencies, call 911.

For non-emergencies, call (937) 833-4357.

Reach Terry Baver at [email protected].