The East Montgomery County Improvement District approved increased funding for a law enforcement program that provides extra patrols during the holiday shopping season. The Safe Shopper program began October 15 and will run through January 15.
This is the third year Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable’s deputies will increase their patrols around high-traffic shopping centers like the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Porter, the Porterwood shopping center and the Kroger Marketplace shopping center, located at the corner of Northpark Drive and U.S. Highway 59.
Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth “Rowdy” Hayden said at the October 9 EMCID Board of Directors meeting he felt that patrols needed to be started earlier as people began to do holiday shopping and that patrolling needed to continue past the first week of January. Doing so required estimated funding of $38,400, an increase over last year that will cover the additional month of patrols.
Hayden said shoplifting and crime have decreased during the previous two holiday shopping seasons due to increased patrols. During the first week of this year’s program from October 15 – 22, deputies made six arrests, issued eight citations, and gave out 23 warnings.