Clearwater Police: Don’t Advertise Major Purchases To Criminals

CLEARWATER, FL – During the holiday season, many area residents want to make sure they’re doing by part by leaving their cardboard boxes out for recycling. However, according to the Clearwater Police Department, residents may want to rethink how they are recycling their boxes from high-end gifts.

According to the department, leaving boxes from large televisions, computers and console games out by the curb for days – even hours – lets would-be burglars know what kind of loot residents received for the holidays.

“You don’t want the bad guys to know that easily what you have in your house,” said Police Chief Dan Slaughter. “When they see those boxes, their eyes light up. They don’t even have to guess which house might have what.”

To help residents recycle safely this year, the police department and the Clearwater Solid Waste and Recycling Department are teaming up for Operation Safe Disposal. For the sixth year, large trash bins are being placed at nine different sites across the city so residents can drop off their large boxes instead of leaving them on the curb in front of their homes.

The bins will be available from Friday, Dec. 23 through Monday, Jan. 2.

“We are proud to offer this service for the (residents) of Clearwater for the sixth year,” said Earl Gloster, director of solid waste and general services for the city. “We enjoy being a partner with the police department to keep our neighborhoods safer.”

The nine sites housing the bins are:

• Clearwater Police Headquarters, 645 Pierce St.
• Countryside Recreation Center/Library, 2642 Sabal Springs Drive
• Clearwater Beach Recreation Center, 69 Bay Esplanade Blvd.
• Clearwater Solid Waste/Recycling Facility, 1701 N. Hercules Ave., in front of the recycling drop-off center
• Morningside Pool, 2400 Harn Blvd.
• Clearwater Fire Station No. 49, 565 Sky Harbor Drive
• Ross Norton Recreation Center, 1426 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
• North MLK Police Sub-station, 1310 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
• Clearwater Fire Station No. 45, 1140 Court St.

The Clearwater Police Department also recommends to keep a record of valuable gifts by documenting make, model, serial numbers and a detailed description. A form to help keep these records is available at www.clearwaterpolice.com/news/pdf/Photos/Operation%20Identification.pdf.

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