Residents are being asked to lock their vehicles as there has been a rash of thefts from vehicles this month.

Since July 2 there have been more than two dozen break-ins to cars in the area including in the towns of Merton, Lisbon, the village of Nashotah and the City of Delafield. Three cars, with keys left in the ignition, were also stolen, but found a short distance from the owner's property.

Stolen from the vehicles have been iPods, laptop computers, MP3 players, CDs, a wallet, and change.

Capt. Karen Ruff of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department urged residents to never leave the keys in the ignition, place any valuables out of sight and lock their vehicles.

The thefts in Merton, Lisbon and Nashotah areas appear to be related as they all involve unlocked vehicles. The thefts have occurred the during the weekends of July 12 and July 19.

The three vehicles were stolen over the weekend of July 19 and 20. The thefts occurred on Marshall, Center Oak and Oakwood drives, Ruff said. The thieves apparently took the vehicles for short joy rides. Some vehicles sustained minor damage, she said.

The thefts in the City of Delafield were of the smash and grab variety where a window is smashed out and items are stolen. Those thefts occurred early July 19.

Anyone with information should contact their local police department. In the case of those communities serviced by the Sheriff's Department, residents are asked to call Ruff at 262-548-7142.

Village of Pewaukee – Police are investigating a case of fraud in which someone used stolen credit cards to purchase more than $14,000 worth of building materials from Menards in February.

According to the report, a man called the store, 1357 Capitol Drive, five times in February to order building supplies. The materials were delivered to an empty residence on North Holton Street in Milwaukee. 

Sussex — The Waukesha County Board approved spending $500,000 Tuesday to help the village build a regional substation for sheriff's deputies servicing contracts with Sussex, Lisbon and the Village of Merton.

The Sheriff's Department also plans to staff the substation wtih two shift detectives and at least one sector squad car currently patrolling the county's northeast quadrant out of its Nashotah substation.

The facility will add about 4,000 square feet to Sussex's current firehouse on Main Street, though that square footage may grow if Sussex, at its own expense, meets what Sussex Fire Chief Colin "Corky" Curtis has said are the fire department's long-range needs. Because its plans are so preliminary, the village has not released any design and construction estimates.