Holiday Shopping Safety

According to a city of Phoenix report, the highest numbers of burglaries and robberies have been reported during the months of January and October of this year so far, and with the holiday season already in full swing, police Detective James Holmes said homeowners and shoppers should take a few extra safety precautions.

January had a total of 2,186 reported cases of burglary and theft while 1,775 cases were reported in October. During the same time last year, the average number for reported cases in November and December came out to 3,422.

“Everybody knows that the potential for crime, especially property crime increases during this time of year,” Holmes said.

Holmes said when people go to shop they should park as close to the building as possible and make sure they are in a well-lit area. It’s also important to make sure their hands are free but that one hand should be on their car keys.

“There are predators out there who watch people’s behavior. We often see problems with people fishing in their pockets for car keys and it makes them a target because they are delayed. It’s a bad idea to be texting or talking on a cell phone at night because then you are not paying attention to what is going on around you,” he said.

Holmes said during the holiday season a lot of people go out during the early hours of the morning or very late hours in the night when it is dark, so they should always stay alert and know that there is safety in numbers and make shopping a group thing.

Christine Romero, a representative for Westcor shopping centers, said shoppers may ask security officers for an escort to their car when parked on any of their mall properties.

Ryan Yamane of Phoenix said he had gone shopping to different malls last year when his car was broken into at the Arizona Mills in Tempe. “I had a bunch of empty bags in the back seat because I had the intention of covering up the gifts once I got them, luckily the only thing stolen were a few CDs.”

Brad Oltmans, the vice president of insurance services for AAA Arizona, said that it is important to keep items from being visible and should be kept in the trunk of your car.

Nat Handler, the director of marketing and business development at Arizona Mills, said safety is a main priority throughout the year and they have more security people on board during the holiday season. There is security at the mall all day and night and the Tempe police have a fully operational mini police station with a holding cell.

Oltmans said it is much easier to steal something from somebody’s house than it is from a store with security cameras so it is important to keep lights on at night, keep blinds closed and to not put out presents early which leave them exposed.

Holmes said that staying aware of your surroundings is imperative, “always keep doors locked even if there is a holiday party because if a bad guy is looking for opportunity, he loves an open door.”

Holmes said, “It’s really common sense stuff, if you already do that throughout the year. Break-ins are a crime of opportunity. If a bad guy sees presents he will break in and take them all just like the Grinch.”

Guest article contributed by Omar Zamora and Laura Tipton, Students
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

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