Chicago hasn’t figured out this crime thing yet. On a daily basis I get several press releases covering all the glorious criminal acts that occur. Just in time for the holiday season, Chicago PD sent out a notice before Thanksgiving about a string of smash and grabs, and on the eve of Christmas eve, a notice about a string of armed robberies. Unfortunately, these kinds of announcements are par for the course in Chicagoland. There’s no better way to say merry Christmas and get people into the holiday spirit, than with some notifications about the continued violence that’s often ignored by MSM and policymakers.

This alert gives notice to businesses residing in the 019th and 024th Districts of recently reported commercial burglaries. In each incident, offender(s) gain entry into businesses by throwing an object at the front glass door. Once inside the offender(s) gain access to cash registers and remove property. These incidents have occurred during the early morning hours…

This is exactly the kind of notification businesses want as they’re entering the busiest season of the year. Some robbers going all Chief Broom on them, hucking items through their windows to steal their property I’m sure is greatly appreciated by the business owners. Since the mid November announcement about these smash and grabs, there’s been no release noting if the alleged perpetrators have been caught.

If the threat of businesses getting robbed blind in the middle of the night is not enough to highlight how well Chicago is handling their crime issue in this joyous season, the warning that went out about the armed robberies should chill anyone looking to raise extra funds during this season of spend.

This alert gives notice to citizens in the 008th District (Chicago Lawn) of recent Armed Robbery incidents. In each incident, the victim(s) show up to the location to purchase a cellphone which has been advertised for sale on a social media site. Upon arrival, one male offender approached the victim(s) and displayed a handgun before taking their money and/or cellphones.

While there’s little a company can do to mitigate smash and grabs other than beefing up physical security, those that meet up to buy or sell items via online marketplaces have more to lean on. After doing your best to thoroughly vet people that are going to exchange with you via online sales, one of the best ways to safeguard yourself is by conducting business at a “safe trade spot”.

Safe trade spots are areas designated that people can conduct in-person exchanges when they don’t know who they’re doing business with. There’s one such location inside my police station, as well as monitoring in the parking lot. What about Chicago? According to a site called Safe Trade Spots, there are 30 police stations within a 25 mile radius of Chicago which have designated spots for making exchanges. Further, a 2019 tweet from the Chicago PD account highlights that any of the 22 departments within the city have locations for such transactions.

If you are buying or selling an item from someone online and need a safe place to meet in-person, you can stop by any of CPD’s 22 district locations to complete the transaction. #CPDMediaCar pic.twitter.com/D7leIoQwT1

— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) September 20, 2019

The holiday season is the busy season for predators to meet their quotas. People tend to be more vulnerable and let their guard down around the holidays as well. It’s important to be vigilant and protect yourself, your families, and your assets. My advice would further include don’t live in Chicago until they get their act together, but I understand that’s an unrealistic proposition for those who might be living in the crime ridden Democrat run oasis. As the good Mayor has her security detail and is safe and secure at all times, I’m sure she’s gonna eventually get all this crime licked. Right?