Ask the Sheriff with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw

It is that time of year and it’s the season for not just for shopping but for thieves.

What you do you do to be careful especially at the malls this time of year?

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw:

A Couple Things are important:

1. When we do a lot of shopping we will have a tendency to take care packages back to the car. We shouldn’t put them in the back seat or the front seat in plain sight so somebody to walk by and see the packages in there and break in. Put them in the trunk or keep those with you.

2. For the women, keep your purse close to you. Don’t put it in the basket and walk off. One can get distracted and very easily do that and somebody could take advantage of this.

These things seem very obvious but it happens all the time and then people forget the lock their cars after they do. Then it's right there where someone could take at any time. We get engaged in the shopping experience and it's very understandable when it happens.

Is the Sheriff's Office beefing up some patrols especially in a nearby some of the malls?

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw:

We are paying real close attention to the parking lots. Our volunteers, our C.O.P.’s will be in the parking lots also. We're making sure that we're going to be seen in the high traffic areas. Especially with the traffic in and out of the malls, we want people to not get in a hurry. Put a smile on, put some patients on and remember there's going to be a lot of people out there.

With all the extra Traffic and the snow birds that are going to be coming down here for the season, what about just being careful on the roads in general?

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw:

Absolutely, traffic is going to be congested so you know patients and courtesy goes a long way here. Also, there are a lot of DUI’s this time of the season. There are people partying and hitting the roads. We're going to have some Saturation Patrols without a doubt, so people need to understand if you're out here drinking and driving we're going to make sure that the roads are safe.

We're also going to do the Tow-to-Go program again. That's where we team up with Brown Distributing and AAA so if somebody has too much to drink they can call 1-800-Tow-To-Go and get a tow truck to take them home. Be Smart, I know you want to drive your car home but listen, don't kill somebody or yourself or get the holidays ruined by going to jail because we’re going to be out there and if you're drinking and driving, it’s not going to go good for you. Call the one eight hundred number and you can get your car the next day. The program is free so there’s no problem.