(KAIR)--Avoiding identity theft. That's the reason behind an initiative planned Monday in two local communities, sponsored by the Kansas Attorney General's Office. 

Supporting the free, one day document destruction service in Atchison is County Sheriff Jack Laurie. “Identity theft has really come on strong for the last couple years,” Laurie tells MSC News. “Even people who choose to recycle, they put their paperwork, their bills, things like that, the parts they don't save, and take them to the recycling receptacles around town and they sit there for days before they're picked up. It's always accessible by anybody at that point.” 

Laurie says residents should take advantage of the chance to shred documents containing sensitive information as a preventative step to avoid being ripped off. “They come on site, and you can actually go out and you can watch and monitor as your stuff's being shredded. You can verify the fact that it's actually being shredded.” 

Atchison residents can take documents needing to be destroyed to Benedictine College on Monday, where the shredders will be running at Saint Michael Hall, located at 2nd and Harper Drive, from 11:00 until 1:00. 

A similar initiative is also planned to happen in Leavenworth, from 4:00 until 6:00 at Home Depot. 

23 other document destruction events will be held elsewhere in the state through the week, held to commemorate National Consumer Protection Week.