As Christmas draws closer, more families are dusting off the Dr. Suess classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and sharing the tale with their children.
McComb police are taking action to deter grinches from pilfering presents by publishing safety tips in the department’s weekly Crime Stoppers Corner ad in the Enterprise-Journal.
Each week, a new tip focusing on holiday safety and property protection will be featured.
“This is stuff people can follow as a guideline,” Detective Shannon Sullivan said. “Cut this out or print this out. These aren’t holiday-exclusive safety tips. This is an every-day thing.”
For instance, to increase home security, lock doors and windows before heading out. Close blinds or curtains, and leave lights and a radio or TV on. Use dead bolts on doors and wooden rods in the tracks of windows and sliding glass doors to prevent break-ins.
After shopping for gifts, record serial numbers on electronics, guns, bicycles and other valuables before gift wrapping them and placing them under the tree.
“For whoever purchases, possesses, receives, retains, acquires or disposes a stolen firearm, they can be charged with a felony and spend five years in jail,” Sullivan said. “New bicycles are an eye-catcher to ‘the grinch.’ Bicycles left near the road or left in easy access tend to disappear.”
He also said gift-givers should break down boxes and dispose of them rather than leave them by trash cans in full view of of aspiring burglars doing some curbside “window shopping.”
Families planning to leave town for the holidays, Sullivan said, should ask neighbors to keep a watchful eye and report suspicious activity.
Of course, some of the tips are common sense — locking car doors, using car alarms and not leaving valuables in plain view.
“When at home or shopping, lock your car doors,” Sullivan said. “More than 75 percent of auto burglaries happen when victims leave car doors unlocked or their windows cracked. Secure your valuables in your trunk or cover them with a blanket or spare jacket on the back floor boards.”
Sullivan said Christmas shoppers should park in well-lit areas, shop with friends and keep a close eye on purses and valuables.
“I have seen purses left in the top of shopping carts where someone can walk past and take the wallet without even searching,” Sullivan said. “Plus, the victim leaves the shopping cart while getting an item from behind them, leaving the purse unattended.”
Sullivan also said people should not leave large amounts of cash laying around their house or in fire safes.
“That’s why they are called fire safes, because the grinch has a carrying case he can open later,” Sullivan said. “Checking your accounts online or by phone on a regular basis during holidays also is a wise move.
“If the public knows ways to protect themselves from day-to-day thefts, it helps law enforcement in the long run,” he said. “It’s deterring the thief or someone from taking something from their property.”
