Police, fire log

* Lock your car and keep packages locked in your trunk.

* Shop with a friend.

* Take only the cash and credit cards necessary for the day of shopping.

* Leave a light on at your home while shopping at night.

For those who are shopping alone at the mall or village centers, police recommend getting an escort to your car if you notice anything unusual or suspicious in the parking lot.

Both the mall and village centers offer security guards who can walk you to your car.

* A compilation of some of the crimes reported to state police and Howard County police is:

Columbia

Route 32 and Broken Land Parkway: Dec. 4, several tools were reported stolen at 7 p.m. from a car broken into at a park and ride lot.

5600 block Vantage Point: Dec. 4, a 1989 Ford Probe was reported stolen at 11:30 a.m. from a residential parking lot.

5600 block Columbia Road: Dec. 4, a 1987 Acura Legend was reported stolen at 8 a.m. from a residential area.

10500 block Green Mountain Circle: Dec. 3, several pieces of jewelry and electronic equipment were reported stolen sometime before 5:30 p.m. from a home that was forcibly entered.

8600 block Stone Cutter Road: Dec. 3, a rifle and several personal items were reported stolen sometime before 8 p.m. from a home broken into through a basement sliding glass door.

5400 block Eliots Oak Road: Dec. 2, a television and a stereo system were reported stolen sometime before 11:55 p.m. from a home entered when a burglar forced open a sliding glass door.

4900 block Columbia Road: Dec. 1, a 1988 Toyota Camry was reported stolen at 10:30 p.m. from a residential parking lot.

Ellicott City

3100 block Normandy Woods Drive: Dec. 4, a 1989 Ford Probe was reported stolen at 7 a.m. from an apartment complex parking lot.

9000 block U.S. 40: Nov. 30, a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier was reported stolen at 10 p.m. from a car dealership parking lot.