Holiday Safety Toolkit

The Holiday Safety Toolkit contains resources that focus on the crimes typically seen during the holiday season and provides initiatives that law enforcement, communities, shoppers, and retail businesses can take to help prevent becoming a victim of crime.

Each publication can be downloaded here, or requested from the COPS Office Response Center by email or telephone at 1.800.421.6770.

Burglary of Retail Establishments
This problem-oriented guide for police reviews what is known about retail burglaries, suggests ways to analyze them in local jurisdictions, and provides guidance on appropriate responses. It addresses establishments including shops in downtown areas, strip malls, covered malls (or “shopping precincts,” as they are known in the United Kingdom), and retail parks. It also addresses stand-alone superstores, neighborhood stores, and rural stores, as well as restaurants, beauty parlors, and off-track betting establishments.

Burglary of Single-Family Houses
Burglary causes substantial financial loss and often serious psychological harm to the victims. This problem-oriented guide for police focuses on burglary of single-family houses, primarily owner-occupied and detached. It begins by describing the problem and reviewing risk factors and identifies a series of questions to help law enforcement analyze their local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem of burglary of single-family houses and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

Check and Card Fraud
This problem-oriented guide for police covers fraud involving all types of checks and plastic cards, including debit, charge, credit, and "smart" cards. Each can involve a different payment method. It then identifies a series of questions to help agencies analyze their local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem, and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

Drunk Driving
Alcohol impairment is the primary factor in traffic fatalities in the United States and drunk driving is among the most common types of arrest made by police. This problem-specific guide for police begins by describing the problem of drunk driving and reviews the factors that increase its risks. It then identifies a series of questions that can help law enforcement analyze their local drunk driving problem. Finally, it provides an overview of responses to the problem of drunk driving and examines what is known about the effectiveness of these responses from research and police practice.

Identity Theft
Identity theft is a relatively new crime, facilitated through established, underlying crimes such as forgery, counterfeiting, check and credit card fraud, computer fraud, impersonation, pick pocketing, and even terrorism. This guide describes the problem of identity theft and reviews factors that increase the risks of it. It is intended to help law enforcement analyze and develop effective responses to their local problem.

Robbery at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)
This guide addresses the robberies of people using automated teller machines (ATM) and night cash depositories. It includes a description of the problem and reviews factors that increase the risks of ATM robbery. The guide also includes a series of questions designed to help analyze any local ATM robbery problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what evaluative research and police practices have shown about them.

Shoplifting
This problem-oriented guide for police discusses measures to reduce shoplifting. It focuses mainly on the typical shoplifting method of concealing items in clothing or bags, and distinguishes between casual, opportunistic shoplifting, and shoplifting by more experienced professionals. The guide reviews factors that may increase the risks of shoplifting. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

Thefts of and from Cars in Parking Facilities
This guide summarizes information on risk factors and evaluates published literature on dealing with such thefts in parking facilities. It also identifies information police should collect to understand and respond effectively to their local problem. The guide covers both thefts of and thefts from cars in parking facilities. Each category of theft covers a wide range of offenses committed by different groups of offenders with different motivations. This guide will help law enforcement analyze and develop responses to their local problem.