By Greg Norred, CEO, Norred & Associates

Over the course of your life, the chances of being the victim of a crime are at least one in three, higher if you live in a large city, and higher still if you’re a woman. The criminal’s objective is to maximize gain and minimize risk, and he’ll usually pick the easiest target with the most to offer. Given these odds, it pays to take precautions by following some basic safety rules:

ACWORTH, Ga -- Police believe they may have stopped a string of thefts when they arrested some pretty clever shoplifters. Acworth Police said they had all the tools, including one they have never seen before.

It all came about because of a very observant retired Cobb County Police officer. He noticed a man and woman inside the Best Buy on Cobb Parkway in Acworth who looked suspicious.

Captain Mark Cheatham said the retired police officer followed the couple into the parking lot where they got into a van with a driver. "He followed them outside and then followed them in their car and called police," Capt. Cheatham said.

ACWORTH, Ga. -- An Acworth man who played Santa Claus during a Shop with a Cop event will now spend 15 years on probation from stealing money from his company.

Ronald Joseph Papaleoni, 70, pleaded guilty Wednesday to five counts of theft. He admitted to taking thousands of dollars from the Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority (LAPA). Papaleoni's company, Premier Management, handled the authority's funds.

Prosecutors said that between 2007 and 2009, Papaleoni wrote multiple checks to himself from LAPA while working as its general manager. Cobb County Assistant District Attorney Jason Marbutt said he believes Papaleoni took $150,000, but the defense argued the total amount was much less.