NCJ Number
109344
Journal
Security Management Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1988) Pages: 54-56,58-60
Date Published
1988
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Security issues vital to shopping centers are surveyed, including costs, parking lot security, loitering and rowdiness by teenagers, and relations with local law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
While developers and tenants of malls usually pay for security, the shopping center management retains responsibility and liability. The article reports selected results of an International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) survey of security costs, including cost per square foot of gross leasable space, regional differences, amounts spent on security personnel, and trends. Survey respondents said their greatest security problem involved vehicles: car thefts, break-ins, and vandalism. Ways to improve parking lot safety through natural surveillance, access control, and designs that enhance visibility are described. A discussion of problems caused by teenagers explains Prune Yard, a landmark California case allowing freer public access to malls, and emphasizes that it is distinct from state and local statutes governing loitering and public disturbances. The article notes that recognition of security's role, which may vary among malls, is vital to avoid problems among mall security, tenants, and local police. The benefits and disadvantages of using off-duty police as mall guards are explored. Staffing patterns reveled by the ICSC survey are described.