To the editor:

My residence was burglarized on Sunday (Jan. 29) in the early morning.

Too often the sheriff’s department is criticized for not preventing these kind of incidents. There’s no police agency that can prevent these crimes from happening. All they can do is take all the information and respond professionally.

In our case, Deputy Jim Scott responded to a neighbor’s observation that there were items along the road that didn’t appear to belong there. My wife’s cell phone was one of the items. Deputy Scott called the first number on the previous call list and reached my youngest son, who notified me immediately.

At 5:30 a.m. Deputy Scott was in my driveway with most of the items stolen from my shop. We inventoried the remaining items missing and discussed our options.

Deputy Scott was very thorough and professional. He remained on my road until daylight, when he and the day shift deputy looked for more evidence.

Again, there is no preventing these people from invading our privacy and homes. But knowing that people like Jim Scott are on the job makes this Island County family feel safer.

RANDALL AND LINDA RECOR

Langley