O'FALLON, Mo. — The O’Fallon Police Department started the #9pmRoutine campaign in mid-August, reminding residents to make sure their homes and cars are locked up.
They post funny memes on social media, so people pay attention.
Officers looked at crime stats and compared them with data from the four weeks before the campaign started. They found stolen cars were down by 75 percent; burglaries from open garages was down by 50 percent; and, theft from unlocked cars was down by 47 percent.
Officers say the understand other factors may be at play, like kids being back in school, but they say the message is getting out there that being in the habit of locking up every night can prevent crime.
“Folks are scrolling through Facebook at 9 o'clock on the couch and they see this pop-up and they go check the doors,” said Officer Tony Michalka. “I receive Facebook comments and inbox comments and Twitter how they’re checking, and lo and behold, it was unlocked."
