Tulsa Police Working To Keep Shoppers Safe This Holiday Season

While Black Friday is the busiest day for shopping, crowds are expected at Woodland Hills Mall throughout the holiday season. 

Tulsa Police will be at the mall keeping people safe this holiday season. "We have six officers out here on bicycles, we have more officers out here in vehicles doing roaming patrols, we have officers that are walking the mall," said Officer Craig Heatherly. 

Heatherly says police are trying to stop vandalism and car burglaries. 

He says while you're out shopping, you should always lock your car and never leave anything valuable in plain sight. "A lot of these crimes tend to be crimes of opportunity, so somebody might not come to the mall thinking that they are going to be a burglar today, but then they see a high dollar purse sitting in a passenger seat and they break the window and take it," he said. 

He says they are also making sure people are driving safely and slowing down. 

Traffic can get backed up near the mall during the holidays, so Officer Heatherly says to give yourself more time to get where you're going. "If you're driving around town, the difference in going 15 mph and the speed limit, might save you two and a half minutes, just doing the cold math, so a $200 fine is probably not worth getting there two and half minutes earlier," he said. 

He says T.P.D. wants to make sure Tulsans have a safe holiday season. "We want to make sure they are safe, nobody takes advantage of them, and that they can come out here and enjoy it, without becoming a victim of crime," he said.