Christmas Crime

Christmas and the holiday season in general have a lot of associations for many people. One of them isn't usually crime, though. At least not until your Santa is snatched or your Frosty is stabbed, or worse: you come home, as I did, to find that every gift under your tree is gone. It was several years ago and I had wrapped gifts I bought for friends and family and placed them under the tree, meaning to leave them there only until I had a chance to mail them. That chance never came, though. Nothing else in the apartment appeared to have been touched. Just the gifts. I hope the thieves liked the toaster I got for my cousin. It was a fancy one with a special toastiness sensor which she had expressed a longing for because of her bagel addiction.

I'm far from alone in having been the target of a Christmas crime. Every year around the holidays police start getting the calls reporting Christmas-specific crimes. Some of the crimes are pretty strange too. Last year the New York Times reported that 32 plastic Jesus figures had been stolen from nativities around the city and left on one woman's front yard. The Catholic League, which keeps track of nativity abuse has made statements that it considers these particular Christmas crimes 'hate crimes.' Apparently they are pretty common.

I no longer live in the same area I did when I was hit by Christmas crime, but last year my neighbor, who had a near life-sized Santa, sleigh and the full compliment of reindeer on his front lawn awoke one morning to find Santa spray painted black and Rudolph missing. The reindeer was later located down the street by police, but this neighbor has sworn his Christmas decorations won't come out for any future holiday seasons. According to the police men who answered my neighbors complaint about his vandalized Christmas display, they had answered several calls of that nature and it was just after Thanksgiving, so they expected to answer quite a few more when the Christmas crime season really kicked off.

Another article in the New York times from December of 2006 detailed the most outrageous Christmas crime of all: a thief, Daniel Morales, stole 25,000 dollars from a Catholic church during Christmas mass. He was caught and some of the cash recovered. I'd hate to be him at confession.

Vandalism is one of the common Christmas crimes, as is gift burglary like I experienced. Stealing lawn ornaments, lights, wreaths are also popular. Breaking into vehicles at the mall where people have left gifts visible in their cars is common as well.

There is something strange about being targeted in a Christmas crime. We tend to think of the holidays as a time when people act a little better than usual and Christmas things as sacred. Even the non-sacred at Christmas is special because relationship between Christmas and family, children, good will toward man and all that. It just feels wrong to have someone to turn Christmas into a special opportunity to commit a crime. It definitely takes away some of the illusions you have about the 'most wonderful time of the year.'

There are some ways to protect yourself against holiday crime. Thieves know that people stow gifts in their cars when they go from one shopping place to another. They walk through parking lots looking for cars with visible packages (all those gifts you've spent so much time picking out) and then smash and grab. Packages sitting on porches are targets as well. Ask a neighbor who's at home during the times your out watch for deliveries and take them inside if you're gone. Also they know people are often out in the evenings for holiday parties so lock your house well and leave lights on outside and in. Motion activated lights around any areas where you have outdoor decorations are also a good idea. Since they aren't on all of the time they don't ruin the effect of your decorations, but if someone comes creeping they are a good Grinch deterrent.

Take it from me. Becoming the victim of a holiday crime is a great way to wreck your holiday.