Holiday Awareness and Safety Tips

Los Angeles: The holiday season quickly approaches and law enforcement would like the public to be mindful and take steps to think ahead about personal safety, and the safety of your Communities.

As we quickly approach the holiday season, now is the perfect time to remind one another of the importance of keeping yourself, your family and your Community safe and sound.  Holiday time is often a time for gatherings and socializing with those you care about most.  It is also a time when criminals and opportunists prey upon such gatherings.  With Halloween around the corner, now is a great time to plan your outing with your family and children.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you travel to and from the places that you frequent during the holiday season.

1.     Be Aware Of Your Surroundings, if something seems out of place it probably is, so do what you can to avoid those situations and then report what you observed to police.
2.    Take Advantage of Lighting, travel well lit areas or areas that are highly populated, don’t give criminals or opportunists the chance to catch you off guard or isolated
3.    Travel In Numbers and make sure that your group knows what to do in case of an emergency.  Locate escape routes in case of dangers, fire, earthquake or other calamity.  Have a plan to protect yourself and others against harm.
4.    Lock It, Hide It & Keep It.  This means don’t leave anything of value in your car where thieves will see it.
5.    See Something, Say Something!  The safety of our Community is Everyone’s responsibility.

The Los Angeles Police Department needs your help to keep our City safe each and every day.  As the holiday season approaches, take this time to talk with your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers about things that will make our Community safe.  The Los Angeles Police Department is always available to meet with Community and Business groups who would like additional safety tips for their Communities.  

Crimes and Tips may be reported to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).  Anyone wishing to report crime and remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.†Tipsters may also go to www.LAPDOnline.org and click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.     iWATCHLA.org  “See Something Say Something†– 1-800-A-THREAT (800-284-7328)

We look forward to serving you and we appreciate your partnership.  For additional information, please contact the LAPD, Media Relations Section at 213-486-5910.