San Diego: SkyWatch to protect holiday shoppers
Sheriff’s deputies throughout the region are keeping a careful watch over consumers —— sometimes quite literally —— in an effort to keep thieves at bay this holiday season.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is using the 25-foot-tall SkyWatch tower to survey shopping center parking lots during the Holiday Watch patrols that began Nov. 26, authorities said. The tower will be hitched to a truck and towed around the county to thwart thefts with its long view and conspicuous presence until the department-wide operation ends Jan. 14.
“It’s useful anytime there’s a lot of space where bad things can happen,” Sgt. Stephanie Guerra said of the tower recently, during a holiday-watch operation at Grand Plaza on Las Posas Road in San Marcos. “It gives us a bird’s eye view and high visibility; bad guys can see we’re here.”