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Keep An Eye On Your Purse; Fairfield Police Show How Easy It Is To Steal

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- With the holiday season comes more lights, more cheer and, for many shoppers, more theft, as Fairfield police officers proved Wednesday.

Lt. James Perez and Crime Prevention Specialist Angela DeLeon tag an unsuspecting shopper's purse using what is known as a distraction scheme.

Lt. James Perez and Crime Prevention Specialist Angela DeLeon tag an unsuspecting shopper's purse using what is known as a distraction scheme.

Photo Credit: Salvatore Trifilio
Darcy Fitzpatrick talks with Lt James Perez after he tagged her purse while she shopped near the deli.

Darcy Fitzpatrick talks with Lt James Perez after he tagged her purse while she shopped near the deli.

Photo Credit: Salvatore Trifilio
Police were able to tag some handbags that are worn around a shopper's arm.

Police were able to tag some handbags that are worn around a shopper's arm.

Photo Credit: Salvatore Trifilio

“During the year we usually get one call every two or three weeks,” Fairfield Lt. James Perez said about the theft of unattended purses. “But during this time of the year we’ll get about a call a day.”

Thefts of unattended purses are most common in grocery stores, police said, where shoppers often leave their handbags in their shopping carts while they turn their backs to order from the deli or pick out a box of cereal.

To bring attention to the crime, the Fairfield Police Department partnered with People’s United Bank for their annual Purse Patrol awareness campaign.

“What we want,” Perez said, “is dinner time conversations. We want people to go home and talk about the experience they had here today.”

For the campaign, Perez and a fellow officer wandered the aisles of ShopRite on Black Rock Turnpike on Wednesday, Dec. 17, and placed “keep an eye on your purse,” stickers on unattended bags. The purpose, Perez said, is to demonstrate just how easy it is for a stranger to get their hands on your bag.

He said they targeted women with purses Wednesday morning because they are most similar to the calls police get regularly at headquarters. Senior citizens are especially vulnerable, he said.

In the hour Daily Voice spent following the Fairfield officers, about seven shoppers were tagged during a relatively slow time in the grocery store.

“At first I saw them there and didn’t pay them any attention,” Darcy Fitzpatrick of New Cannon said. She told Daily Voice that she shops at the store about twice a month and was met by the Fairfield officers at the deli.

“At first I felt ridiculous, it happened in like a blink of an eye,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m glad he did it. I think I’ll tell my friends and family about it.”

Customer Service Manager Sheila Timpanelli was happy to see that the Fairfield Police were bringing awareness to shoppers. In a safe community such as Fairfield, people often let their guard down, and ShopRite wants to “keep all of our customers safe,” she said

“I’m glad they’re showing them awareness,” Timpanelli said.

Angela DeLeon, a crime prevention specialist for People’s United, said the bank partners with police departments all over Connecticut in its Masters Program to promote senior citizen crime prevention, who are the most vulnerable to financial schemes.

Perez added that although officers were working in a store, similar thefts are common in movie theaters and churches.

“It happens all the time when people get up to receive Communion,” he said. “And when they come back to their pew, someone has gone through their purse and they don’t notice until later on.”

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