SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A shooting near a high school in Lakeside, a SWAT standoff in Downtown San Diego, and officers opening fire in the middle of a crowded Balboa Park.
They all happened within hours, and all happened a week out from one of the biggest holidays of the year.
While the incidents aren't connected -- the acts of violence did bring up a question.
Do the holidays create an increased risk of crime and violence?
“It's typical that we do see an uptick in criminal activity during the holiday season,” Lt. Cesar Jimenez of the San Diego Police Department said.
Jimenez said that certain types of crime do go up, but not others.
“Not so much in violent crime, during this time of year, that tends to abate for a bit. But, definitely property crimes,” Jimenez said.
ABC 10News pulled crime statistics from the San Diego Police Department. According to the data, overall crimes are going down by a good amount this year.
The numbers during the holiday season, from November to January, generally fall within the same range and decline from year to year. But data for last December show both property and violent crime had one of the highest points of the year during that time.
“Especially right now with everybody getting presents, being delivered to their homes, you know, it's really important for people to be cognizant of what's coming to their home, what time, so that they're there to pick it up,” Jimenez said.
The holidays can have stress triggers of their own for many people.
"So whether that's finances, family dynamics, being overscheduled, having this feeling of perfection, and so it's really good for a person to check in with themselves and see what are those red flags if they're starting to feel stressed, overwhelmed, irritable, angry,” Dr. Sarah Simmons, who's the Director of Physician Psychological Wellness for Kaiser Permanente - San Diego, said.
ABC 10News spoke with her about what could trigger people to struggle during the holidays. Simmons does have some advice to help if you're struggling.
"So when you start to feel this way, or connect with another family member or somebody that you love, who you trust, who can say, ‘hey, you know, I've noticed that maybe you're starting to feel overwhelmed, and you can have that code word and that message where you can take a step back and sort of take some quiet time for yourself,” Simmons said.
