After Purse-Snatching Incidents, Guilford Cops Offer Warning, Advice

GUILFORD, CT — A spate of purse-snatching incidents since last Thursday have Guilford police sharing warnings, and advice, on how to mitigate the risk of falling victim to "crimes of opportunity and convenience."

On Sept. 1, a "purse stealing crew meandered into Guilford and found themselves at a local gas station."

Police said they found an "unsuspecting victim who was busy at the gas pump, trying to fuel up."

"The suspects rolled into the lot in a blue Hyundai and pulled up beside the victim vehicle. The male passenger in the rear of the vehicle is seen exiting the Hyundai and opening the passenger side door of the victim vehicle. He removes the backpack from the front seat, closes the front door and returns to the Hyundai. The vehicle initially drives away, but when the suspects realize they have the keys to the car in the backpack, they return to steal it. However, the victim is now in the car and trying to turn the vehicle on… to no avail because the Key Fob was in the stolen backpack.

The Hyundai flees a second time and travels to a neighboring town, where the three suspects immediately begin trying to buy gift cards at another gas station with the stolen credit cards. Thank goodness for fraud protection, which prevented the theft."

Two days later, on Saturday morning, police were called to Shoreline Plaza for a purse theft.

"During this event, the victim was returning her shopping cart and was confronted by a male who exited a vehicle that had been circling the lot. The male grabbed the victim’s purse, which she attempted to hang on to. The victim was knocked down and sustained minor injuries. The male and suspect vehicle drove away, but not before the victim was able to obtain a great description of the suspect and vehicle, in addition to the license plate number. This vehicle had been reported stolen from another town less than an hour before this purse theft."

Police say these "crimes of opportunity and convenience" are increasing in frequency, but can be "significantly" reduced by following the following:

1. Carry only the essentials and ditch the purse. With current technology, most people can shop with their phones and the few cards that can be stored in the case. Very few items in a purse are needed while at the grocery store or shopping.

2. Have a list somewhere of all the valuable items in your purse: ie credit card numbers and contact info, any other items that have sentimental or intrinsic value, anything particularly identifiable about the bag or it’s contents.

3. Place a Tile or Air Tag type device in the lining of the bag or wallet so that you can provide tracking information to police if it is stolen.

4. If you have to carry a purse, carry it in front of your body, so it is less of a target for thieves. Some safety sites recommend cross body carry purses while others discourage against that, so use what feels right for you.

5. Do not carry items like social security cards in your purse or wallet as these items, combined with your ID, provide thieves with the perfect information to steal your identity.

6. Have fraud alerts set, and download apps onto your devices to shut off your credit and bank cards immediately if needed.

7. As with our Guilford victim, get as much detail as possible about the suspects and vehicles to ensure a proper identification of the criminals by responding officers and detectives following up.

8. Carry your keys in parking lots, vs leaving them in your purse. Have a whistle or keychain air horn attached to your keys to make loud noises and draw attention to the criminal stealing items.

9. As much as you don’t want to lose your items to theft, if someone grabs them, do not engage in a struggle. This could escalate the crime significantly and cause significantly higher risk of injury to the victim. You are more important than what is in your purse.

10. If you read this far, we are happy that you now have a few safety tips to keep in mind and that these tips will help with enhancing situational awareness. Trust your instincts and if something doesn’t feel or look right, go back into the store and give us a call so that we can check it out for you.