SILVER SPRING, Md. (DC News Now) -- The holiday shopping season is officially underway and as millions begin to flock to stores, police in Silver Spring are working on ways to ensure shoppers feel safe amid an uptick in retail crime.  “We have a lot of work to do,” said Jason Cokinos, commander of the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) 3rd District. “What we’re doing is we’re putting extra resources and initiatives, especially with the upcoming holiday season so people feel comfortable going out in downtown Silver Spring and other parts of Silver Spring.”  The move is part of Cokinos’ holiday crime reduction initiative that launched this week. It entails heightened police presence throughout shopping districts in Silver Spring and robust technology his department has been using throughout the last year.  Police: Thief takes multiple coats from Pentagon City “We’re using our drone as first responder in downtown Silver Spring,” Cokinos explained. “We have license plate readers [and] cameras that we’re utilizing. We’re also putting officers out in plain clothes.”  The safety initiative will aim to crack down on illegal behavior as crime trends, for the most part, have decreased throughout the last year, the commander said. Shootings are down 62% when compared to last year. Carjackings are also down 50% and car thefts are down 42%.  However, retail theft is up 25%, forcing Cokinos and his department to take proactive measures to derail crime in highly transited areas, the commander told DC News Now.  “We are taking a tougher posture with crime. We want to make things safer for our community, for our businesses,” Cokinos said.  The measure comes as some retailers in the area have begun to add locks to items that are stolen often. “We want to keep you safe. We want you to have a good time, but don’t contribute to the problem,” Cokinos said. Within their first night of operations, Cokinos said his team was able to seize two illegally owned guns during a traffic stop.