Columbus Police Department will begin increasing patrols for the holidays beginning on Wednesday, Police Chief Oscar Lewis said Monday.
The patrols will vary in size depending on location and time of day.
Lewis said he particularly wants officers in shopping centers monitoring parking lots and being out where shoppers and members of the community can see them. He plans for eight officers to patrol the Walmart parking lot on Thursday and Black Friday.
“We’re trying to make people feel safer while they’re doing their holiday shopping,” Lewis said.
Later during the holiday season, CPD will conduct random license and sobriety checks in the city, Lewis said. Since those have to be advertised, he said the checks will happen closer to Christmas.
Starkville
Starkville Police Department also plans to increase patrols.
Officers there will focus their patrols in residential areas, Chief Frank Nichols said.
“We’re focusing on the neighborhoods,” he said.
Nichols said additional officers will patrol shopping centers and parking lots for major retailers like Walmart. But the primary public safety concern over the holidays are residential break-ins, especially in student housing while students are away during holiday breaks.
“We encourage people to … lock their doors, leave their belongings locked up,” Nichols said.
Be aware
In Columbus, Lewis also advised shoppers to be aware of their surroundings during the holiday season when criminals are more likely to steal shopping bags and other valuables from vehicles. CPD fielded reports of three car break-ins over the weekend in different areas of Columbus, Lewis said. He advised shoppers not to leave purses, wallets, phones, weapons or any other valuable items in cars and said that whenever possible, take gifts home between shopping trips rather than leave them in vehicles where potential thieves can see them, break car windows and steal them.
“Park in well-lit areas,” Lewis said. “Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Stay off the cell phones.”
Don’t buy products from people in parking lots, either, he added, especially perfume or cologne. In other cities, criminals have put chemicals in perfume bottles, sprayed the drugs in shoppers’ faces to knock them out and robbed them while they’re unconscious, Lewis said. That has not happened anywhere near Columbus yet, he said.
He warned people to be aware in stores as well.
“It only takes a second,” he said. “People reach in while you’re bending over something, looking at cranberry sauce or something, and they’re gone with your wallet.”
Most of all, he asked individuals to call CPD if they see anything suspicious.
“If you suspect anything … please don’t hesitate to call the police,” he said. “We’d rather come out and get their name and get their information and investigate on the front end than … not know anything about it.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.