COLUMBIA (WACH) - Richland County Deputy John Sullivan is making a list and checking it twice. It's a survey the sheriff's office is handing out to local businesses.
"We'll fill out the survey ourselves," says Sullivan. "We go over it with them and make recommendations that we see that they may need to implement, and they take it from there."
Those recommendations may range from installing security cameras to keeping windows free of clutter. Sullivan says a few businesses he visited Thursday could use a little work.
"There's a few businesses that didn't have the height tape. That is something we suggest.""A few businesses may use their back door a lot so we're advising them, keep it locked, keep it shut."
Sullivan is concerned about places that could be vulnerable to crime like gas stations, tobacco shops, and other small businesses. Sullivan says his workload will only get heavier as we get further into the holiday season.
"We'll start actually coming out and looking for suspicious characters and suspicious cars, anything to hopefully catch these guys before they commit any crimes."
Many of these same recommendations apply to your home as well. Sullivan says you should keep hedges trimmed below the window ledge and make sure all outdoor lights work. If you're traveling this holiday season have someone collect your mail and newspapers.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH