NORWOOD, Ohio -- When it comes to holiday shopping, the best person to keep you safe is you.
The Norwood Police Department has seen fewer smash-and-grab robberies in parking lots around Rookwood Commons, but old-fashioned purse snatchings and pickpocketing aren't unheard of in the shopping center's parking lots.
Officers warn there are sometimes thieves sitting and waiting in these lots for people to lock the treasures they buy out of plain sight in their trunks while they continue shopping at other stores.
"People think if I just throw stuff in my trunk it's safe, but with trunk locks now and the ability to open a trunk inside your car now without the key, it's not as safe as you think," Lt. Ron Murphy said. "So there are people that are staking out parking lots looking for people to put valuables in their trunks. They'll smash your window and then they'll do your trunk release."
The Florence, Middletown and Newport police departments are all beefing up patrols, and the Cincinnati Police Department is adding more foot patrols in Over-the-Rhine.
