Black Friday safety tips

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Soon shoppers will make a mad dash towards some hot tickets items but first police want to remind shoppers about some ways to stay safe this Black Friday.

Shopping can often put others in danger, when some shoppers get a little crazy.

That's why Mike Seybold, the General Manager at Terre Haute’s Best Buy made a plan of attack for the morning madness.

"One of the things we do is provided security outside and inside. We have off duty police officers as well as barricades up so people can't rush into the front door. They have to stand in line so it's fair and consistent,” said Seybold.

In an effort to keep shoppers safe this holiday season, Chief John Plasse and Terre Haute off-duty officers often make their presence known to help with crowd control.

"I think basically we're there when people don't listen to the store employees. As we've seen in other cities, there's been shootings and fights, all kinds of things,” said Chief Plasse.

Chief Plasse also mentioned often Black Friday deals create crowd issues, sometimes even shop lifting can become an issue.

"Shop lifting typical increases over the holiday season and the main thing that we see is when people buy  big purchases, they will take them out to their car. It's visible out in their car windows so someone out in the lot might see that and then break into there car,” said Plasse.

Instead shoppers should put their newly purchased items in their trunk or take them home.
The idea is if the gifts are out of sight, then they’re out of mind.

Plasse says shoplifters often look for people who carry large amounts of cash.
    
Shoppers should carry several small amounts of cash and safely hide them in different areas. Also never count money in plain sight.