PRESS RELEASE:
Detectives and officers in the Shoal Creek and North patrol divisions are conducting a multi-faceted project this week to target property crimes offenders and educate the public about how to avoid being victims.
Operation Safe Holiday will target suspects of property crimes and educate the public on theft prevention Dec. 12 to 15.
A large reason for the project is to stop the increase police typically see in cars stolen when the weather turns cold. Sergeant Daniel Graves of the Shoal Creek Property Crimes Section said many are stolen when left on and unattended.
“As the weather has changed, we’ve seen a big increase in stolen vehicles where people left them running to warm up,” he said.
To prevent this, police will be out at convenience stores (a common place vehicles are left running unattended) to issue warnings and possibly citations to drivers who leave their vehicles on with no one inside. City Ordinance 70-251 bans leaving a vehicle running unattended.
Officers also will be out at major Northland retail areas passing out tips to keep cars from being broken into. Thefts from vehicles usually rise during the holidays but are easily preventable. Citizens should not leave items of value in their vehicles.
Finally, officers will be working with area residents on burglary prevention. At residents’ requests, police will conduct security surveys of residents’ homes to show them ways to prevent crime such as proper door locks, lighting, and recording serial numbers of valuable items.
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