Awareness During the Holidays

[shandrum]

I know each year during the holidays, criminal related activity increases. But, I was wondering if we need to be aware of any particular criminal act that is more prevalent this holiday season to help keep our awareness up?

 

[missamanda819]

Good question. I'm curious also.

I would assume that during the holidays, muggings and robberies are more common. I know that people get stressed out trying to provide a good Christmas and resort to extreme measures.

I had a friend get robbed at a grocery store last year about 2 weeks before Christmas. Luckily, she wasn't hurt, but all her Christmas money was stolen.

I'm not saying that is a valid reason or excuse to commit these crimes. I would just imagine that would be the mind-set of some of these individuals. Be safe, everyone!

 

[DancingLady]

Theft and drunk driving are probably the biggest. People are less aware of their belongings when they are very busy. One thing to never do is take bags to your car after shopping at one store at the mall, then go back in to shop at another store. When things are really busy, you probably won't spot someone who is casually observing and looking for a car to break into. If they see you deposit things and go back in, they know they have a window of time to break in, steal the items and anything else left in the car and get away before you return.

Drunk driving is also way up during the holidays. My family has always tried to avoid driving later at night when people are more likely to be on the road drunk. If you have friends of family members drinking at a gathering, keep an eye on them and make sure to remind them that some one needs to stay sober to drive them home.

 

[Gelsemium]

I say that we should really drive slowly and not drink when driving, these are the major issues during the holidays, a lot of crashes in this period.

 

[DancingLady]

Totally, traffic itself is a hazard. I can't imagine being a cop trying to deal with all the annoyed drivers on the road the night before Thanksgiving. It must be really challenging to decide who ought to be pulled over for the safety of everyone on the road and when it's best to just be part of the flow and keep order by your presence.

 

[missamanda819]

Another "tip" I've always heard regarding holiday safety is not putting boxes on the curb for trash collection. Christmas is a big time for receiving big gifts (electronics, etc.) and lots of times those big boxes are just put on the curb. I've heard that thieves may use this information to determine whether or not to target your home. If they see a box for a big 50 inch TV, that tells them there's a new TV inside waiting for them. It's best to break those boxes down or take them to a dumpster.

I live in an apartment, so it's not a huge issue for us. We take boxes to the dumpster anyway. But, this might be helpful for those in houses.