Police remind residents of holiday crime precautions

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With the holiday shopping season underway, area police departments are reminding residents of ways to avoid being targets of holiday-related crime.

Virginia State Police recently published a press release in conjunction with U.S. Cellular offering safety tips for shopping and driving during the holiday season.

With the holiday shopping season underway, area police departments are reminding residents of ways to avoid being targets of holiday-related crime.

Virginia State Police recently published a press release in conjunction with U.S. Cellular offering safety tips for shopping and driving during the holiday season. Many of the tips stress the importance of having a cell phone when shopping alone and having emergency contact information programmed into a phone should an emergency situation arise.

“Wireless phones have greatly enhanced the ability for emergency personnel to act quickly, but people should still be aware of their surroundings and take precautions during this holiday season,” stated Dee Taylor, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in the mid-Atlantic, in the press release.

Virginia State Police also state people always should be aware of their surroundings and that persons overloaded with packages are easy targets for theft. Package overload also limits visibility and freedom of motion.

State Police recommend shoppers make multiple trips to their vehicles when shopping and conceal packages by placing them in the trunk or covering them with a blanket.

The Richmond Police Department also has published safety tips to help prevent crime during the holidays on their Web site. The department advises against shopping alone and carrying large amounts of cash. Police recommend parking in well-lit, high traffic areas and recoding and keeping on file serial or model numbers of major purchases.

Students who live off-campus and are going out of town during the holidays can also request Richmond Police make periodic checks on their residences. This can be done by filling out a house watch request form and returning it by mail or in person to their local precinct. Forms are only good for periods of up to three weeks; any additional time would require additional forms.

“I definitely did not know that the Richmond Police would watch your home during the break,” biology major Greg Mullins said.

Mullins says he thinks the program is a good idea, but also says there should be more promotion of it so that more people are aware they have that option available to them.

House watch request forms can be downloaded from the Richmond Police Department’s Web site at www.richmondgov.com/police/VacationWatch.aspx.

Holiday crime down near VCU, the Fan

According to crime incident data available on the Richmond Police Department Crime Incident Information Center Web site, several crimes have occurred during the time between the fall and spring semesters near VCU and in areas frequented by students.

The data shows that between Dec. 19, 2007, and Jan. 13, 2008, a total of 138 crimes were reported in the Fan. Of the reported crimes, 25 were thefts, 14 assaults, 11 burglaries, three robberies and three incidents of vehicular theft. Also during this time, 24 crimes were reported in Carytown, 14 near VCU and 13 in Oregon Hill.

While the data show a decrease in December and January crimes over the past three years near VCU and the Fan, crimes have increased slightly in Carytown and Oregon Hill.

Crime incident data for specific Richmond neighborhoods is provided online by the Richmond Police Department at www.richmondgov.com/police/Crime_Incident_Info.aspx.

Sidebar by Eric Blackstock

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