The holiday season always brings with it more crime, Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon said.

Overall, his office is getting more calls for service, too, he said. The number of car crashes in the city is up 10 percent over this time last year.

“I think we’re at the beginning of the influx of the economic boom and I can tell we’re busier,” Dixon said.

The past week saw three armed robberies in Lake Charles, two involving robbers who forced their victims into cars and made them drive them to another location.

The third was a particularly brazen daylight robbery outside Immaculate Conception Cathedral downtown as two parishioners were waiting for Mass.

“Desperate people do desperate things,” Dixon said. “Nothing surprises me.”

Whether the holdups were directly related to the holidays, with more people out shopping and more opportunities for criminals, the area sees a not-unusual surge around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, Dixon said.

“It’s this time of year, it just is,” he said. “It always seems to spike a little bit … and school’s not even out yet.”

Through the holiday season, the Police Department has set up a control center at the Power Centre, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office has set up one at Prien Lake Mall and the marshal’s office has set up one in front of Target.

Traffic in the area has gotten busier in general, but in the last two weeks, crashes have risen 38 percent, Dixon said. He offered three suggestions for maneuvering the area.

Be cautious: “You should be observant. I don’t want to use the word ‘paranoid,’ but you should be aware of your surroundings.”

Stay off of cellphones while driving: “When you’re driving, you’re responsible for a 5,000-pound piece of machinery that you should be using your full concentration to be driving.”

Lock car doors: “One thing that drives me crazy and I don’t understand is every day I get my daily and there’s a car broken into that the doors are unlocked. I don’t understand it. Has our society become so distracted that we’re not paying attention to detail?”

Dixon encouraged residents to report crime.

“Our best eyes and ears is the public; that’s who we rely on,” he said. “ Get involved. We encourage the public to be our eyes and ears. That’s what works — it’s a partnership.”(MGNonline)