Police, mail carriers work to keep residents safe during holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, many people will soon start finding the best way to work through their holiday gift list, whether by shopping in-store or online.

For both kinds of shoppers, the holidays present a particular challenge: how to keep gifts and other valuables safe from prying eyes and would-be thieves. Those looking to commit crime often strike around the holidays, when people are more likely to have valuable gifts in their cars or homes.

Both police and package delivery services do their best to ensure the safety of both residents and their packages during this time.

Capt. Johnny Evans with the Vestavia Hills Police Department said while it may not be a huge change by the numbers, police do indeed see an increase in crime during the holiday months. In general, police are a lot busier in the holiday season, Evans said, from helping prevent property crime to working more wrecks, as more drivers take to the roads.

“I think it does [increase], because people understand you’re going to have gifts at your house, you’ll be out shopping and you may have more money,” Evans said.

Crimes that typically increase include car break-ins and residential burglaries, Evans said.

The police department, to counteract such crime, typically concentrates more on patrolling city neighborhoods in this time to watch for suspicious behavior. Such behavior, which Evans said should be reported to police, includes people walking around houses, coming from the backyard or taking packages off of porches and from front doors. 

This would also include people who residents do not recognize as part of the neighborhood, Evans said.

No one should be taking any packages off the porch, Evans said.

“UPS will leave a package; UPS will not take a package,” Evans said.

At Morgan Manor, owner Robin Morgan said he usually doesn’t encounter any problems.

Morgan said he hasn’t heard of any problems, and said he would hear about it if it was. Having only one entrance and one exit helps cut down on any potential problems, he said.

Mailboxes at Morgan Manor are designed to give residents a key to a locker where larger mail items, like gift packages, can be left waiting for them, Morgan said.

A FedEx representative said while the business has more than 400,000 employees dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction and safety, there are some practical tips they give customers, such as considering an alternate destination where someone can take the package into their home, or requesting a signature.

Evans also urged them to lock their doors, use motion flood lights if possible, call the police if they see suspicious activity and hide packages. 

Don’t leave empty gift packages outside your door or near your trash can after they’ve  been unwrapped, as that could give away what is inside your home. 

Evans also advised not to bring bags of merchandise out to your car and then go back inside while shopping, as someone watching you will see that you have items in your car.