[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] From the "Good on Paper, Bad in Practice" D...

Just a blurb of an entry here, but I wanted to get your thoughts on this:

A holiday safety reminder
CPD warns shoppers to protect valuables in cars

Ric Latarski
Senior Staff Writer

Friday, December 07, 2007

CONYERS - Normally when you find a ticket on your windshield from a police officer it is not a good thing, but in Conyers a ticket could save you some money.

Officers with the Conyers Police Department will be on foot patrol in the parking lots of major shopping areas in the city over the next couple of weeks. They will place yellow tickets on vehicles with packages or boxes of merchandise that are visible on the seats or floorboards of cars; in other words, vehicles that are easy targets for thieves.

Conyers Police Chief David Cathcart said the yellow ticket program is part of an overall crime prevention program to help remind people to be careful with regard to their Christmas packages.

"If you leave packages in clear view in your car, then you might be providing an opportunity to a thief that can be avoided if you are just a little more careful," said Cathcart. "Even if you put your packages in the car and think you're only going to be in another store for a few minutes, you're still at risk because it only takes a moment for someone to take advantage of a situation."

The CPD has stepped up patrols during the holiday season in the city's shopping areas and increased the number of officers on duty during the evening shopping hours.

"Certainly our goal is to catch the thief; but if we can help create an environment which makes it more difficult for the thief to thrive, then that's a positive for our entire community," the chief said. "We want the citizens to know that we are out in the community and this program not only lets people know officers are patrolling an area, but reminds people to secure their packages."

Ric Latarski can be reached at ric.latarski@rockdalecitizen.com.

Wow... Thank you Chief. You freakin' dope!

Really, how is labeling these cars with visible packages inside, not making things that much easier for thieves?

All they have to do now is look for these tags instead of wasting their precious criminal time walking around actually looking in cars to see if there's anything to swipe.

Your thoughts?

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 12/07/2007 03:29:00 PM