MARSHALL — Incidents of people climbing and breaking into downtown buildings in Marshall have slowed down since this summer, said Marshall Police and downtown business owners. A meeting between business owners and law enforcement this August was “a great start,” Marshall Public Safety Director Jim Marshall said Wednesday.

At the same time, Marshall and MPD detective Jason Kopitski encouraged business owners to stay in contact with police about crime, scams or suspicious activity.

Marshall and Kopitski led a talk on crime prevention at the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Lunch and Learn” event on Wednesday. It was a topic that has been an ongoing concern for businesses in Marshall’s downtown.

Over the summer, business owners voiced their frustrations with incidents including people climbing to the roofs of Main Street buildings. In addition to causing property damage, the intruders would break into and vandalize the buildings.

In late August, Marshall Police took four juveniles into custody, after reports that people were on the roofs of West Main Street buildings in the early hours of the morning.

On Wednesday, Kopitski answered questions and offered advice on reporting crime to police. If a business has been broken into, he said, “Don’t go in there. Call our office right away.”

Once police have investigated the scene, they can go through it with business owners to determine what had been stolen or damaged, Kopitski said.

Kopitski also recommended that business owners make sure they knew how to use their security cameras, and how to provide copies of the footage to law enforcement. Camera placement was also important, to see suspects’ faces. “Your best one is head-on,” he said.

Having cameras in businesses was “really what led us to making arrests” in the downtown break-ins, Marshall said.

Kopitski and Marshall also encouraged business owners to be aware of scams. If a person comes into a business to purchase a lot of gift cards, it’s possible they’re being scammed by a third party. Authorities like police will never call and tell you to buy gift cards, Kopitski said.

People should be wary of contacts on social media asking you to buy things for them, even if you think you know the person, Kopitski said.

“Really, the big ones I work on are social media scams,” Kopitski said.

Other types of scams specifically affect businesses, like e-mailed requests to transfer an employee’s payroll to a new account.

“Any kind of payroll changes, make that in person,” to be sure of the employee’s identity, Kopitski said.

Marshallencouraged business owners to communicate with law enforcement if they see suspicious activity or a possible scam.

“If you suspect something is not right, don’t hesitate to call,” he said.