Christmas is right around the corner, and while many people are gearing up for Santa’s visit, we’re preparing for an uptick in business. We don’t mind being busy around Christmas, but being busy means more people are running into trouble with the law. There is typically an uptick in crime around the holidays for whatever reason – more time off, stress, etc. – and we want to take a closer look at some of the crimes that increase this time of year.
4 Common Holiday Crimes
Here’s a look at four crimes that we usually get more calls about as the holidays approach.
1. DUI – DUIs are pretty common throughout the year, but they tend to spike in the winter and summer. The warm weather and longer hours of daylight during the summer lend themselves to more drinking and potential for DUIs, while in the winter, people typically have time off around the holidays, and many times they are celebrating with holiday spirits. Whether it’s Christmas with the in-laws or the office holiday party, there seems to be more opportunities to drink and drive this time of year.
2. Shoplifting – Shoppers are flocking to the Mall of America and other shopping centers to get their last minute gifts, and sometimes the moment overwhelms them and they end up stealing something from a store. Shoplifting crimes tend to increase around the holidays because stores also tend to staff more loss prevention staff during this season. Resist the urge to get the five-finger discount, otherwise you may be calling our office.
3. Prostitution/Sex Crimes – Nobody wants to be alone around the holidays, but paying for companionship and human contact can end up leading to criminal charges. It’s impossible to tell whether you’re communicating with a real person or a police officer posing as a sex worker when you’re on the internet, and police are getting better at rounding up individuals who use the internet to seek out sex. We’ll probably get a few more calls in the coming weeks from men looking for legal representation after responding on an online ad.
4. Distracted Driving – Don’t get us wrong, people drive distracted no matter what season it is, but the winter season means you usually have less time to react to obstacles. There always seems to be an uptick in fender benders during the holiday season, whether from poor road conditions, distracted drivers or a mix of both. These decisions can even be fatal, as two pedestrians died this weekend after being struck by vehicles. It’s not certain if the drivers were distracted, but with poorer road conditions and less daylight, it’s imperative you put the distractions away, otherwise you may need to call us.
Hopefully you don’t need us this holiday season, but if you do, we pick up our phones 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our number is (952) 224-2277.
