The holiday shopping season is here and that means criminals are on the prowl looking for an easy way to make a buck.

Unfortunately, the holidays and crime go hand and hand. In the past two weeks, at least two people have been robbed, one outside First Baptist Church on Dallas Avenue and one in the Walmart parking lot.

Last week during a public safety forum put on by the city, Selma Police Chief John Brock and Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman shared tips with citizens and business owners to help them stay safe this holiday season.

Chief Brock said the number one thing people should do is to pay attention to what is going on around them.

“When you’re out there shopping pay attention to what’s going on. Don’t be looking down at your phone,” he said. “The bad guys are more than likely watching you with your head down, scrambling for your keys, so you’ve got to pay attention to what your surroundings are.”

The police department has extra officers patrolling shopping areas during the holidays to try to steer criminals away. Brock said the extra patrols would be downtown and in the Selma Mall area and Walmart.

Sheriff Huffman suggested shopping in groups.

“When you go shopping and it gets close to dark, take somebody with you. Take two or three people if you have to,” he said. “If you’re in a store, and it gets dark or you kind of have a little fear about going to your car, ask somebody in that store if they can get somebody to watch you or walk you to your car. They’ll do it. They’d love to do it.”

Huffman also suggested getting a concealed carry permit instead of openly carrying a gun.

“If somebody is going to rob you, and they see that you have a gun strapped on, the first thing they are going to do is take you out,” he said. “That’s the reason for a concealed carry permit. Cover it up. The element of surprise may give you a few minutes.”

But there are also ways people can protect themselves if they don’t carry a gun with them.

“A lot of people don’t want the responsibility of carrying a gun, but there are other alternatives for self-protection other than a hand gun,” Brock said. “Use your imagination. You’d be surprised at what you come up with to protect you and your family if you are out riding around at the store or in your house.”

Brock suggested using car keys and even wasp spray.

“It’s worse than a can of mace. You’d be surprised,” he said. “In fact, I saw a little old lady the other day and in the front seat of her car on her passenger side was a can of wasp spray. I asked her about it, and she said, ‘Yep, that’s my protection.’”

Huffman said business owners should invest in a surveillance systems and lighting.

He said business owners can also call the sheriff’s office for an escort if someone is making a late deposit.

Homeowners should also take caution.

“Everybody’s got their Christmas tree at the front window of the house where everybody can see all your Christmas presents stacked around it. Guess who else is watching that Christmas tree?” Brock said. “The opportunity is there. An individual walking down the street sees that it’s there, and there’s nobody home. They can bust the window out, take four or five packages, and they’re gone.”

Brock also suggest not letting criminals know what was under the tree on Christmas morning by putting the boxes by the road.

“After Christmas, don’t put the 50-inch TV box out in the yard so the city can come by and pick it up because they know there is a … brand new TV inside the house,” Brock said. “The microwave or whatever, don’t stack them out in the yard the day after Christmas because the bad guys see this. They see what you just got for Christmas. That’s an opportunity.”

Brock and Huffman also both asked for people to watch out for their neighbors. They asked for people to call the police if they see something suspicious.