RPD encourages holiday safety
By Staff
Melissa Cason, Franklin County Times
Christmas time is here and it's the busiest time of the year for everyone not only St. Nick. With all of the hustle and bustle already underway, the Russellville Police Department wants to remind residents to take care while out shopping for your loved ones.
Police Chief Chris Hargett said that the holiday season is typically a time when thieves like to strike unsuspecting citizens.
"The main people can do [to prevent thefts] is be aware of their surroundings regardless of where they are," Hargett said.
He added that cars should be parked in well-lit areas, and all valuable should be placed out of sight preferably in the trunk.
Hargett asks that anyone who notices suspicious activity report it immediately to the police department.
"Even though it [theft] isn't happening to you, you might be able to prevent it [theft] from happening to someone else," Hargett said.
Hargett added that shoppers might consider leaving purses in the trunks and carrying credit cards in their pockets or keeping purses close to their person instead of laying them in shopping carts while shopping.
"Last year, we had a big problem with purses being stolen from shopping carts," Hargett said.
He added that this holiday season is off to a quiet start but there are still several weeks to go before Christmas and that everyone should take precautions at home as well by having relatives or friends watch your home if you are planning to be gone for more than a few days, or have the police patrol your area extra when you are gone.
"We have a patrol request list for those who are going to be gone for more than a night or two," Hargett said. "I don't want to give residents a false sense of security because their home may not be checked every night they are gone."
Hargett added that the patrol request list is patrolled when officers are not busy answering calls so there is not guarantee that their home will visited every night they are gone.
Hargett asks that everyone slow down and be careful in order to have a safe holiday season.
