Dallas Police Look To Reduce Violent, Property Crime During Holidays
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas Police Department has begun its Holiday Crime Initiative to reduce violent and property crimes.
The department unveiled the program before the Dallas City Council's Public Safety Committee Tuesday afternoon.
It began October 30 and remains in effect until New Year's Eve.
Victoria Scoggins, a single mother of three in Dallas said she's pleased police are doing this.
"I feel like moms with their hands full are big targets, which is really unfortunately and really scary," said Scoggins.
Scoggins said she and her family are just starting to put their Christmas wish lists together.
DPD said its officers will focus on reducing robberies, thefts and stolen vehicles in certain shopping areas and entertainment districts.
They'll also target certain neighborhoods.
Lonzo Anderson, a Dallas Assistant Police Chief said, "Primarily in the M Streets, we've seen an increase in package thefts. So because of that, our CERT deployment teams have been working closely with UPS and Fed Ex to combat those offenses."
The initiative comes as DPD statistics show between January 1 of this year through Monday robberies of individuals rose more than 14% from the same time last year, business robberies increased by nearly 24%, stolen vehicles jumped by more than 15% and thefts of all kinds rose by nearly 5%.
Scoggins said to stay safe, she shops during the day, and carefully watches where she parks.
"Always carry my purse with me. Always lock my doors, and then whenever I'm loading my vehicle, it's to never keep my head down. I try to always keep my wits about me," she said.
DPD offers tips as well including: hiding packages and valuables in vehicles, keeping the vehicle's doors locked and setting the alarm, and if shopping at night, park in a well-lighted area.
