By Gabrielle Martin, News Editor.
Whether you like it or not, winter is around the corner. Donald Pussehl, Chief of Police for Saginaw Township, says that a drop in crime might be around the corner too.
“As a police department, we tend to see a bit of a slowdown in criminal activity during the winter months,” says Pussehl.
He explains that one reason for this could be quite obvious – the cold weather. Lower temperatures often mean snow, which can make footprints from a crime easier for police to follow.
“We’ve caught some thieves that way,” says Pussehl. “The officers followed their footprints and finally caught up with them.”
Pussehl suggests another – perhaps not so obvious – reason for the decrease in crime.
“Juveniles are back in school and maybe have less idle time on their hands to think about getting into trouble. We see less juvenile crime during the winter.”
Juvenile crimes, he explains, include larceny from motor vehicles. What happens is teenagers walk through neighborhoods looking for unlocked cars, then they take smaller objects such as money,phones or GPS devices.
That being said, Pussehl adds that there is an increase in purse snatching during the holiday season (Thanksgiving through New Year’s).
Delta student, Taylor Sochacki, 20, says he’s not too surprised to hear that.
“With everyone being close together in a shopping mall, it would make it easier for someone… to grab someone else’s purse.”
Pussehl adds that thieves tend to think people– especially women – will carry more money with them during the holidays.
“I would recommend for a woman to try to carry as little as possible in [their] purse,” he advises.“It’s just so disheartening when– maybe from a senior citizen –they have irreplaceable items in there: photographs of grandchildren or personal items that are hard to recover.”
Hailey Conley, 18, is a Delta student and an avid shopper –especially during the holidays.Conley says that she tries to take only the necessities with her when shopping: her phone, wallet and keys.
“I don’t want anything stolen… If I have everything close to me, it makes me feel more comfortable.”
Pussehl says thieves are just typically looking for cash or perhaps credit cards; often times, the police can search the surrounding area and find that the purse was dropped in a dumpster or someplace similar.
He also has advice on how to keep gifts safe in your car this winter. “We encourage citizens as they’re out shopping to place items… in the trunk– out of sight, out of mind – so that if someone is walking through a parking lot, they don’t see a lot of gifts or purchases in the back seat and try to break a window or force their way into the car.”
During the winter months, it’s common for people to warm their car up in the morning before leaving. Pussehl says that, if you’re going to do this, you should lock your car to prevent theft.In addition, don’t leave your car running while you make a quick run into the store – it’s actually a crime.
Finally, the biggest piece of advice Pussehl has for citizens – not just through the winter months, but always – is “to be observant.”