Cop's Corner

  • Published
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Oct. 6 -- An active duty military member reported to the Police Services Desk that they lost their backpack while attending Oktoberfest on Oct. 4. The active duty military member stated that they noticed their backpack missing in which contained their passport, one 8 gigabyte I-Pod, one grey sweater and a small pillow. The active duty military member stated that they were unable to recover the lost backpack. 

Oktoberfest is a great event that should be remembered by all those who attend this extravaganza. It is important that we secure our valuables so that we can focus more on celebration rather than locating a missing item especially when we have been consuming ample amounts of alcohol. Don't become a Bierleichen (German for "beer corpses") when it comes to securing personal belongings. 

Oct. 8 -- An active duty military member reported to the Police Services Desk that they lost their military identification card while they were at the Military Personnel Section -- MPS, formerly known as the MPF. The active duty military member stated that the last time they saw their military identification card was at the MPS customer service desk. The next day the military member went to the MPS and was unable to recover the military identification card. 

Our MPS deals with hundreds of military identification cards on a daily basis. It is not their responsibility to account for each and every identification card that they come across. Military identification cards serve multiple purposes and contain important personal information. It is our responsibility to secure them at all times. 

Oct. 10 -- An active duty military family member reported to the Police Services Desk that they lost their dependent identification card. The active duty military family member stated that they noticed the card was missing while they were doing their laundry on base and possibly threw the identification card in the recycle bin. After searching for the identification card, the active duty family member was unable to recover the lost card. 

The loss of this identification card could have been avoided if it had been secured in a wallet or purse. Take the time to discuss with your family members how important it is to keep these identification cards in a secure location at all times. 

Oct. 12 -- An active duty military member reported to the Police Services Desk that an unknown person(s) vandalized their residence. The active duty military member stated that when they returned to their residence they noticed damage to the front door, two window shutters, backside fencing and the living room screen. 

This unfortunate crime can happen to any one of us. It is important that when we leave our residences, we take the necessary precautions that would make an offender think that someone is home. This might include leaving lights on timers, keeping valuable items out of plain view from offenders, keeping exterior lights on, or simply leaving a TV or radio on. These simple steps will minimize the chances of becoming a victim of vandalism and burglary.

Aviano All-Star Award:
This week's Aviano All-Star Award goes to the active duty military family member who threw their military dependent identification card in the recycle bin while they were doing their laundry. Take the time to discuss with our family members how important these cards are to us and the negative effects they can have if they fall into the wrong hands. Lets work together to prevent the unnecessary loss of our military identification cards. 

Crime Prevention Tip of the Week:
Halloween is right around the corner. We need to start planning on how we are going to celebrate Halloween in a safe secure environment that we will all remember. Here are some tips to help make this Halloween season fun, safe and successful; remind kids not to enter a strange house or car, try to get kids to trick-or-treat while it is light out, if it is dark make sure to carry a flashlight or place reflective material on the kids costumes, keep costumes short to prevent trips and falls, inspect candy and treats in a well lit area before eating, only eat unopened candy or treats in original packaging. Happy Halloween!