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‘Tis the season to shop. As the holiday season is rolling around, shoppers are on the move. NCC’s Isis Young tell us different ways to ensure shopper safety.
Isis Young –
With holiday traffic in stores, some Central New York residents are worried about their safety while shopping.
An employee from Ann Taylor located in Destiny U.S.A. says they are trying to make up for the lack of security in their store through customer service.
Lacee Harper
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(” We don’t necessarily have the best security. We don’t have a security guard or you know how the alarm goes off when you leave a store, we don’t have that in our store.”)
Isis Young
But one way they are helping customers feel safe around large crowds is…
Lacee Harper
[TAKE SOTNAME:Lacee Harper DURATION:0’12”]
(“Offering to take their bags as well because people’s bags can get stolen and mixed up at the same time. So we’ll take their bags, right their name on it to make sure that their bags are safe and they’re not leaving anything.”)
Isis Young
Lastly, Lacee suggests customers keep money on them to avoid identity theft through stolen credit cards.
Lacee Harper
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(” Sometimes its not even safe to do cards, just cash.”)
Isis Young
[TAKE SOTNAME:Isis Young DURATION:0’09”]
(“Lacee believes that taking cash rather than a credit card is safer when shopping in a store, but a local Dewitt Police Officer thinks differently.”)
Alexander Fratini
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(” I would advise against carrying large amounts of cash. Right, Now you can use apple pay and credit cards, you can keep it in your wallet and in female’s purses. But carrying large amounts of cash, once its gone its gone.”)
Isis Young
Officer Fratinti says he sees an increase in shoplifting, stealing, and break ins of cars during the holiday season. The Dewitt Police Department has increased their patrol because of this.
Alexander Fratini
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(” Walking through stores, we call it flying the colors right. Showing our presence to deter crime.”)
Isis Young
And if you are out shopping during this holiday season and think something of yours was stolen, the police should be your first call of action.
Alexander Fratini
[TAKE SOTNAME:Officer Alexander Fratini DURATION:0’10”]
(” Contact the police immediately. The quicker we can get to that call, the quicker we can start our investigation.”)
Isis Young
One last tip for shopper safety is to put your purchased merchandise in your trunk versus the front of your car. Officer Fratini assured me that trunks are rarely ever broken in to.
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Be safe during the holiday season and report any suspicious activity to a security guard or your local police department.
As the holiday season rolls around, shopping becomes more frequent in the Central New York Area. With Destiny USA as the 6th largest mall in the county and the surrounding area of Dewitt with huge commercialization, the traffic of shopping is arguably at the highest peak in CNY right now. And with more people and money, this can possibly attract crime, which some CNY residents are worried about.
Therefore, I spoke to Ann Taylor’s Sales Associate Lacee Harper about shopper safety during the holiday season.
“It gets very busy during the holiday season. The sales bring lots of people, which creates long lines. I always tell people to be aware of their surroundings”, said Harper.
Ann Taylor in Destiny USA does not have cameras nor a security guard for their store. In order to combat the lack of security, they give shoppers the ability to put their bags in a secure area.
“We offer take their bags in the back and put them in a secure spot so they can feel free to stop and don’t have to constantly check their bags. Also because a lot of people and bags can get messy and it would be easy for someone to distract someone and possibly steal,” said Harper.
Dewitt Police Officer Alexander Fartini has several safety tips for holiday shoppers.
Carry cash or money on your person. Do not put in a purse or bag and leave the bag on a cart while shopping.
If you can, use credit cards. It is very hard to track lost cash.
Place purchased items in trunk of car after you leave a store. The trunk is a very safe place for valuable items and is rarely broken into.
If you believe someone has stolen from you while shopping, please contact security or your local police department immediately.
