Shreveport Police Dept.

Date: Nov. 23, 2004

Phone: 318/673-6932 Fax: 318/673-6933

Contact: Kacee Hargrave, Public Information Officer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Police beef up robbery patrol

The Shreveport Police Department has a strong message for criminals this holiday season: Don’t mess with Shreveport.

Operation Dominate is underway and is already having a big impact on the number of business robberies in the city.

Robberies in October of this year decreased by 47 percent over October of 2003. So far this month, robberies have decreased by 77 percent.

Operation Dominate began in October and runs through the end of the year. It involves uniformed officers, as well as undercover officers, watching businesses inside and out.

The holiday season is traditionally a time when robberies of businesses increase. Now that Thanksgiving is just a few days away, criminals need to know that officers will be out in full force.

Some ways officers will be tackling the seasonal crime trend include:

• having armed officers inside businesses, keeping a watchful eye on would-be criminals. This includes the shotgun squad setting up in hidden areas of stores.

• having undercover officers in unmarked cars stake out local businesses for potential problems.

• having officers drive around in marked units to increase police presence in shopping centers and other areas.

The days and hours of the operation vary, with police increasing their presence at strategic times.

So far, the operation is making a difference and is expected to continue to keep Shreveport a safer place for businesses and the citizens who patronize those businesses.

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View all SPD press releases at www.ci.shreveport.la.us/dept/police/spdnews