A stronger law enforcement presence should be noticeable untilthe new year as more emphasis is put on helping businesses andresidences stem the tide of holiday thefts.

Neither the Brookhaven Police Department nor Lincoln CountySheriff’s Department will be increasing the number of officers onthe street this year, but both departments have reshuffled theirpriorities some to put more emphasis where it’s needed, officialssaid.

“They’re just used differently,” said Police Chief PapHenderson. “We focus more on designated areas.”

Day shift police officers, for example, will do less radar workto catch speeders and spend less time observing traffic lights.Instead they will emphasize a presence in the business andresidential areas.

“Don’t get me wrong, you can still get a ticket out there,”Henderson said, “but we’re not going to be sitting and waiting fortraffic violators.”

One of the reasons they have less time to monitor traffic, hesaid, is because they get more requests for security escorts asbusinesses’ sales jump.

“We have to be available for them when needed,” he said. “Wherenormally businesses would do their own escorts, during the holidayswe tend to do more for them.”

Police officers will also be more of a presence when they beginfoot patrols in the downtown area and along strip malls.

“It’s been a successful program. We got a lot of complimentsfrom the businesses last year on this, so we wanted to do it againthis year,” Henderson said.

The chief said he did get some calls from concerned businessmenlast year. They were worried because they kept seeing differentofficers along the route.

“They won’t see the same officer, because we’ll rotate themout,” he said. “Each officer will only work foot patrol for a fewhours.”

Residential areas in the city will also see an increasedpresence, Henderson said, but those officers will be patrolling incars.

The extra patrolling and security escorts, in addition toresponding to crimes that become more prevalent during theholidays, such as shoplifting, have put a higher demand on theofficers’ time. This prompted Henderson to put less of a priorityon traffic violations.

“You have to back off something to create the time,” he said.”This is something we know is coming, and we’re prepared forit.”

Citizens can help officers by being observant as they travel, hesaid.

“Residential areas need to pay more attention to unfamiliarfaces or vehicles and out-of-town vehicles,” he said. “Look foranything suspicious. No matter how small or large it seems, theyneed to call us.”

Many people don’t report suspicious activity because they don’twant to appear or feel foolish if there’s nothing wrong, but it’san unwarranted concern, he said.

“That’s our job. We’re here 24 hours a day to check into thosethings,” he said.

Sheriff Lynn Boyte said the holiday season doesn’t affect hisdepartment as strongly as it does the city, and so it doesn’tchange their operation much.

“It’s a busy time of year, no doubt,” he said. “You just try tostay active, stay visible, and help where needed.”

The county does tend to crack down more on drunk drivers duringthe holiday, however.

“It wouldn’t be a wise thing to drink and drive, especially thistime of year,” he said.

The department generally runs more roadblocks during the holidayseason than any other time of year. This year will be no different,Boyte said.