ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / December 1, 1999

LAPLACE – For most of us, the Christmas season is the time for peace and goodwill to mankind. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Grinches andScrooges out there who see the Yuletide as the time for theft and robbery of men, women and children.

That is why the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office is stepping upits presence throughout the parish during this busy shopping season just before Christmas.

“Visibility is our biggest crime deterrent,” said Capt. Mike Tregre. “That iswhy we are increasing patrols and the frequency of patrols in all the major shopping centers.”This will help keep the lid on such criminals as shoplifters and pick- pockets.

According to Tregre, Sheriff Wayne L. Jones has started a new program tohelp cut down on business burglaries. When deputies check out businesses,they fill out a Business Check Card with information about locked and unlocked doors, type of business etc. The deputy hands one part of the cardto the business owner and turns in the other part to the sheriff.

“When the sheriff goes through these cards the next day, he has a good idea of who is being patrolled and what should be done to help the businesses keep burglaries down,” said Tregre. “Since we started this system, themonths of October and November have been an all-time low for business burglaries in the parish.”Tregre thinks this Christmas season will see the biggest decrease in business burglaries of all.

Car burglaries also hit their peak at this time of the year. Besidesincreased patrols in parking lots, Tregre has a few pointers for shoppers.

“Please hide all your gifts. Put them in the trunk or cover them. Gifts outin the open are just begging to be stolen,” Tregre warned. “Also, don’tleave your cell phones on the car seat. A thief will break a car window toget a cell phone.”Christmas is also the peak season for a scam known as the “pigeon drop.”Tregre said criminals are very successful with this con because it appeals to the greed in people. Most victims of this game are the elderly.Criminals who use the pigeon drop will work in parking lots at malls and shopping centers. They usually work in pairs. One person will approach ashopper and tell them either they are working for a church or they from another country. They will tell the victim they have a lot of money andfeel very uncomfortable carrying this money around. At this point, theywill pull out a large wad of money. They gain the victim’s trust and finallyask the victim if they will hold the money for them. As a sign of faith,they ask the victim if they will put up some money and hold it all together to show that they are honest.

The scam artist then convinces the victim to go to the bank and withdraw a large amount of money, usually equalling what the criminal has. The conman then puts both his money and the victim’s money into a kerchief, ties it up tightly and gives it to the victim to hold. What the victim doesn’tknow is that the thief has made a switch and given the money to a partner.

The victim goes home thinking he has conned the foreign gentleman out of a lot of money. However when he gets home and opens the kerchief, hefinds nothing but newspaper cut up to look like money.

“Believe it or not, a lot of people have been conned by this,” said Tregre.

“About half the victims will not call us, because they are too embarrassed.”These thieves work from one end of the parish to the other and are usually gone by the end of the day. The ones who have been caught are not thateasily kept in jail.

“They have numerous aliases from all over the country,” said Tregre, “and once they are out on bond, they just disappear.”During the Christmas shopping season, the St. John Sheriff’s Office willalso be enforcing handicapped parking, drunken-driving and speeding laws.

During the next couple of weeks, deputies are strictly enforcing the speed limit in school zones as well.

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