Harford County Sheriff’s Office Holiday Foot Patrol Initiative

From the Harford County Sheriff’s Office:

The holiday season is upon us and Harford County Sheriff’s Office will be intensifying their regularly scheduled patrols with their Annual Holiday Foot Patrol Initiative. For the seventh consecutive year, beginning December 1, 2009, Sheriff’s deputies will be conducting both foot and vehicular patrols of shopping centers and retail plazas in their jurisdiction. The intent is to deter crime and make the holidays much safer for the citizens of Harford County. In addition to deputies on patrol, Harford County Sheriff’s Office Command Staff will be taking to the streets as well.

“This provides commanders an excellent opportunity to meet with the business community and citizens that we serve,” comment Sheriff L. Jesse Bane.

“Often during this busy time of the year, when people are already being pulled in too many directions or feeling especially festive, they stop paying attention to their surrounding and personal safety,” stated Bane. “As throughout the year, we encourage them to practice personal and auto safety awareness at all times.”

Since many crimes occur simply because the opportunity exists, deputies will be utilizing an awareness tool (sample attached) that identifies if a vehicle was a potential target for crime. These are not tickets, but a way to help citizens remember to be more alert and aware with their vehicles.

The awareness piece entitled “Attention- Don’t be a victim” will be utilized during the increased annual holiday patrols and continuing on into 2010. The “Attention – Don’t be a victim” reminder will indicate whether the deputies discover a car was that unlocked and unattended. It will also point out if personal property (such as a laptop, holiday gifts or portable GPS system) was left in plain view. Another common situation found are drivers leaving the keys of their vehicles unattended, sometimes with the cars running.

The main goal of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office annual holiday patrols is to ensure that during these special holiday times one does not end up a victim of crime.