“Two undercover police officers dressed as Santa Claus and his elf stopped two suspected car thieves and thee suspected shoplifters outside a Riverside, California, shopping center Thursday. Riverside Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit, assisted by officers from the School Resource Officer Unit, conducted a holiday enforcement program – which they’re calling ‘Santa’s Intervention’ – targeting retail theft during the holidays, the police department wrote on Facebook”.
“On Thursday, detectives and loss prevention specialists conducted video surveillance inside the Target store in the Canyon Springs shopping center as other detectives and officers remained outside to help detain any suspected thieves. Of those waiting outside were a detective and officer dressed as Santa Claus and his elf. At one point, they received information about three suspicious men attempting to steal vehicles in the parking lot. One of the undercover detectives saw the suspects trying to steal an older white Honda CR-V. Two of the men tried to flee the scene after spotting the officers, but were quickly apprehended. ‘One suspect resisted arrest but was taken into custody with the help of our undercover Santa, and the second was detained by the undercover elf,’ police wrote on Facebook” – ABC News.