Holiday thieves, beware. A new crime prevention program recently rolled out by the Corpus Christi Police Department has you in its sights. The department’s new SkyWatch tower is just one tool being used to reduce auto burglary and theft over the holidays.
Corpus Christi was chosen as one of three Texas cities to participate in a holiday crime prevention campaign aimed at stopping auto burglaries and theft. The Insurance Council of Texas is working with the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Auto Theft Task Force, the Regional Transit Authority, and ICONIC Sign Group to raise awareness of increased crime during the holiday season. Frisco and Fort Worth will roll out the program as well.
“LOCK your car, TAKE your keys, and HIDE your belongings,” is the mantra for maintaining a merry Christmas. About 250 signs with that slogan have been distributed across the city. Along with those three main tips are a few extras that can keep thieves at bay:
• keep a list of serial numbers for items you can’t take out of the car;
• tie down items in truck beds;
• and don’t leave items with personal information in the car.
Along with awareness, CCPD will have eyes in the sky. The department’s SkyWatch Tower will be placed in Moore Plaza and La Palmera mall as a preventative measure as well as a way to better spot and catch thieves in action.
CCPD statistics record about eight car break-ins a day. Around 600 cars were stolen last year — about two a day. The Insurance Council’s prevention program, which has been used in 30 cities across the state over the past 13 years, has a proven track record of reducing the holiday crime rate by about 20 percent a year.
