Tips From Tulsa Police To Stay Safe While Holiday Shopping

Thousands of people will be out shopping this weekend and criminals will be out as well. Police encourage people to be aware of their surroundings and have some advice on how they can stay safe.

Police say your personal belongings like your wallet, purse, or gifts you may have just bought aren't worth your life. Police say the crime rate may not necessarily go up during the holiday shopping season, but with more people out, the opportunity is higher.

"Anytime over the holidays when people are out and about, shopping and spending money, somewhat distracted it provides an opportunity for people to somewhat become a target,” said Lieutenant Justin Ritter with the Tulsa Police Robbery Unit.

Ritter says if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of an armed robbery, the best thing you can do is do whatever the suspect says; don't resist or try to fight.

"There's no reason to try to fight back, or not cooperate, it is just not worth getting hurt or seriously injured. It is just property,” said Ritter.

Ritter says the same goes for those who legally conceal carry a gun. He says you should do what they say and focus on getting a good description of the robber and their car, which will help detectives catch them.

"You may think, I've got time to defend myself. We would highly recommend not doing that because it is a split second of someone deciding to pull the trigger while you are trying to pull your gun out,” said Ritter.

Police say never leave your purse in a shopping cart but keep it on you and make a copy of the front and back of every credit card in your wallet, in case you need to report them stolen.

"Just be aware of your surroundings. If you feel like something is not right, if your gut is telling you something is not right, listen to it,” said Ritter.

One other tip is, if you are buying any electronics, take pictures of the items and the serial number, so in case it does get stolen it will help detectives track it down for you.