Police on the watch for stolen yard signs
By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com
In a politically heated election season, supporters across Charles City are promoting their preferred candidate with the tried-and-true method of yard signs.
However, it seems signs aren’t safe and several incidents of stolen or vandalized signs have been reported to the Charles City Police Department in the last few weeks.
“I’m sure there’s a bunch that haven’t been called in as well,” said Lt. John Jenkins, who has himself dealt with a few of the incidents.
While Jenkins knows of one politically motivated incident of sign stealing, most cases are suspected to be the result of “punk kids” out causing mischief.
“We caught one of them a couple weeks ago,” said Jenkins.
For those worried about their signs, Jenkins recommends bringing them in at night or making sure they are placed in a location that can be monitored.
“If they have cameras, put them in front of the cameras so we can see them,” said Jenkins. “Especially if it’s motion activated. That way we can catch them live.”
Jenkins also encourages people to call the police as soon as possible if they see somebody messing with their signs.
“We can’t catch them if you don’t call,” said Jenkins.
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