With the holidays fast approaching, many people will find themselves in busy grocery stores and malls shopping. Thieves know this, and while they're shoplifting, if they see a purse or wallet “presented” to them, they'll steal it.

Purses or wallets taken from shopping carts in grocery and other stores are fairly common crimes in the Ann Arbor area. It doesn’t take a lot of inattention for a stealthy thief to quietly steal a purse or wallet.

Thieves will be looking for someone who walks away from their shopping cart, leaving their purse unattended, to gather items to bring back to the cart. They'll also look for distracted mothers trying to entertain, restrain or care for crying or wandering children. From these two victim types, thieves will steal the whole purse.  

Thieves will also look for purses that are open for the owner to easily retrieve coupons or shopping lists. They will time their “shopping” to be next to a person's cart just as the person has to reach down on a lower shelf to retrieve an item (perhaps pumpkin pie filling or candied yams for Thanksgiving dinner). 

If a wallet is visible to these sneak thieves, it can be stolen very quickly, and you won’t realize it until you need your wallet to pay for the groceries.

To avoid these thefts, there are a number of things you can do. 

First and foremost, do not leave your purse unattended for even a second. Be aware of where your purse is and whether anyone is around. Keep the top of your purse snapped and secured so a thief can’t reach in and snatch your wallet. 

Maintain a coupon pouch outside your purse if you are a coupon user. Keep your purse on your shoulder or in your hand while shopping or consider using a wallet you can secure in a pocket instead of a purse while shopping.

Make your purse inaccessible in the cart. Get your coupons and cell phone out first, latch the top of your purse, place it in the bottom of the basket (not in the seat or on the very bottom where it could fall off), and as you shop, bury it with groceries that will make noise or conceal the purse and make it less accessible to thieves. 

The purse won’t be accessible to you either, but really you won’t need it until you have to pay for the groceries at the point of sale. Remember to maintain your purse vigilance as you load groceries into your car.

If you see a thief take a purse or wallet, alert store personnel or make a loud scene to alert the victim, store personnel and perhaps force the thief to drop the stolen purse or wallet as they scurry away.

Most importantly: lock it up, don’t leave it unattended, be aware and watch out for your neighbors.

Rich Kinsey is a retired Ann Arbor police detective sergeant who now blogs about crime and safety for AnnArbor.com.