Holidays on Alert: Lessons from a weeklong look at holiday crime

(NewsNation Now) — NewsNation on Friday wrapped its series “Holidays on Alert,” which took a closer look at the kinds of crimes that tend to rise as people crowd into shopping centers and wait for package deliveries.

Throughout the week, store owners and loss prevention workers opened up about their experiences, while police and safety experts shared tips to protect against theft and physical harm. A poll commissioned by NewsNation found that although a spate of high-profile smash-and-grab robberies have made Americans feel less safe this holiday season, it hasn’t deterred them from conducting some amount of their holiday shopping in-person.

The survey, conducted by Decision Desk HQ, also found more than 80% of respondents thought issues such as porch piracy and in-store thefts are a problem for the nation. Half of those surveyed saw it happening in their own communities.

“We almost went under,” Helen Dean, the owner of Toy Safari in Alameda, California, said on “NewsNation Prime.” “In fact, each of the attacks … we’ve had to assess and evaluate and come to a decision, and I don’t think I could take much more.”

The California toy store owner said she was at her “wits’ end” after thieves and robbers targeted her store multiple times, forcing her to pay tens of thousands of dollars for added security.

As stores take measures to guard themselves against robberies, businesses that specialize in protective equipment are seeing a growing demand for their products.

“The demand has increased beyond capacity for everyone in the security products business,” said Riot Glass, Inc. founder Brad Campbell. “It’s a constant struggle for us.”

Riot Glass specializes in security glass and framing for protection against forced entry and ballistics. Those are exactly the kinds of threats that Campbell said store owners have been trying to fend off in light of widespread protests and now, smash-and-grab robberies.

During one instance that was caught on camera, two suspects gave up and walked away after they were unable to break into a high-end Los Angeles retail shop.  

“They were there with a concrete parking stop that they got from the parking lot. Two guys were using it as a battering ram,” he said.

Suppliers of a large Slinky-like protective barrier appearing outside of storefronts also are racing to keep up with demand.

“We are getting phone calls constantly for this,” said Josh Nielsen, the vice president of Adamson Police Products Nielsen.

The device, officially barb-less concertina or tangle wire, acts as a visual deterrent to robbers and an additional physical barrier protecting brick-and-mortar stores.

“If somebody’s running, trying to get through something quickly, they are going to have to navigate it and get tangled up,” Nielsen said.

Storefronts aren’t the only targets of the recent wave of robberies, however.

Auto thefts saw a dramatic increase in 2020 versus 2019, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

“While people are inside stores spending several hours browsing and waiting in lines, criminals blend in to crowded parking lots scanning for vehicles that have belongings or key fobs left inside,” David Glawe, president and CEO of the NICB, said in a news release. “Once they find one, if not already unlocked, it takes only five to 10 seconds to break a window, grab items and flee the scene without anyone even noticing.”

Americans aren’t letting robberies keep them from completing their holiday shopping, however.

Overall, 54% of those surveyed have already shopped in person, 25% plan to shop in person and 21% don’t plan to shop in person, according to the NewsNation survey.

Only 6.5% of those who said they wouldn’t shop in person cited the recent retail crimes.

To stave off predators, police and defense experts say people should remain aware of their surroundings, lock their car doors, and avoid leaving packages out for the taking.

NewsNation’s Markie Martin and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer demonstrated how to protect yourself against potential thieves in parking garages amid the holiday shopping rush.

“People are very distracted. You’re headed to your car, you have your car keys. In an airport, you have luggage. If you’re shopping, you have your bags. So you’re completely distracted,” Coffindaffer told Martin on “Morning in America.” “Your hands are usually occupied. People these days, unfortunately, are always on their cellphones and not paying attention, right? So you open yourself up to vulnerability.”

The full “Holiday on Alert” series can be found online, with articles and videos detailing what NewsNation learned over the course of the past week regarding holiday crime and safety.