Is it just us, or do the holidays make everyone just a bit desperate? Whether it’s accepting a New Year’s date with the guy named Wilbur from your meditation class or breaking down in tears when the lady in front of you buys the last Jingle Beanie, it’s amazing how the season of joy can really get you down.
It is with that same sense of desperation and general malaise that we at C-VILLE Weekly perform our daily duties reading the City crime blotter. And, boy, do those larceny and bad checks charges seem even more sad and, well, desperate during the merriest of seasons.
Since Thanksgiving (and as of December 8), there have been 64 larceny charges filed. The single most common larceny from last year was theft from motor vehicles, which can be avoided by locking your car doors and not leaving your shiny silver 60 gig video iPod on your dash.
But other types of money-related crimes go up during the holidays too, City officials notice. “In general, right before Thanksgiving and on through the new year, you have a noteworthy rise in both domestic crime as well as crime as it relates to money,” City spokesman Ric Barrick says.
Police citations for bad checks seem to stand out during the shopping rush as well. From Thanksgiving to December 8, there were 20 people charged with writing bad checks for amounts under $200. But what’s the difference between, say, accidentally overextending yourself on beer again, and actually getting booked for passing bad checks? Getting charged “involves intent,” says Barrick. “Folks know they don’t have the money and don’t intend to pay it back.”
We feel that! If only we could make those charges for holiday shopping just disappear. But, more and more people getting caught with not enough money in the bank? That’s a thought that doesn’t exactly fill one with cheer.
