Police offer holiday shopping safety tips
Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season are upon us, and police departments are offering suggestions when it comes to shopping and receiving packages at home.
Experts suggest when you are shopping in brickand-mortar stores to never put items purchased where they can be seen from the windows. It makes it more tempting for thieves to damage your car.
Their best suggestion is to place items in the trunk, or, if you have time, take them home and go back out shopping.
Police officers also suggested ways to reduce the potential for home burglaries when having packages delivered or opening boxes at home.
Delivered packages
When you have packages delivered via the U.S. Postal Service, UPS or FedEx, make sure to have someone at home when it is delivered and track your package.
If you know you aren’t going to be home, make sure to have a neighbor or someone else at your home to get the package. Thieves will watch houses this season to see if packages have been left on the porch and might take them.
Opening boxes
When you open packages or presents at home, such as a TV box, never place them in the trash without condensing it or putting it in a black trash bag.
If you place it in the trash, thieves can look through your trash and see what you bought, and that makes it easier for them to prey on your house. By cutting the box up or placing it in a trash bag, it reduces the opportunity for a thief to see what you bought.
“They put the trash out for the trash man to pick up, and it tells these thieves what they just purchased and what’s inside your house,” said Holly Estepp, Crime Prevention Officer for the city of Vandalia.
Estepp said the main suggestions are making sure someone is home when packages are delivered, keeping items purchased in the trunk of your car when out shopping, and making sure boxes at home are properly disposed of when throwing them away.