A.V. MALL BEEFS UP SECURITY FOR SHOPPERS.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News PALMDALE -- Notice more security at the Antelope Valley Mall The Antelope Valley Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Palmdale, California. Opened in September, 1990, its buildings take up around 1 million square feet (90,000 m²). Its physical main building, parking lots, and ring road businesses encompass an area a bit less than 0. these days? Reflecting an effort to make the mall safer for shoppers and merchants during the busy holiday season, the mall has beefed up its private security detail to augment an increased public law enforcement presence. Mall security concerns are based on familiar patterns of increased theft that typically start the moment shoppers stampede stam·pede n. 1. A sudden frenzied rush of panic-stricken animals. 2. A sudden headlong rush or flight of a crowd of people. 3. into malls in the early hours of ``Black Friday Black Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, in U.S. history, day of financial panic. In 1869 a small group of American financial speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fisk, sought the support of federal officials of the Grant administration in a drive to corner the gold .'' The mall has nearly doubled its private security and paid off-duty law enforcement staff, officials said. Funded partly by the city and the mall, the Palmdale sheriff's station doubled its patrol from one to two full-time deputies, and it also has added more mobile units and mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be largely picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control. patrols to deter crime in the parking lot. New technology has been added -- including radio communication with law enforcement -- and video surveillance will undergo significant expansion early next year. A permanent structure is being added in the mall for sheriff's deputies. Holiday shoppers, who often are preoccupied finding those perfect gifts or attending to children, can be especially attractive targets for criminals. ``You get enough people concentrated in one area, and you have ripe picking for criminals who prey on those folks,'' sheriff's Deputy Dave Jennings David Tuthill Jennings (born June 8, 1952 in New York, New York) was an [ said. The increased presence is especially pronounced on weekends, when retired sheriff's deputies volunteer to patrol the parking lot on horseback on the back of a horse; mounted or riding on a horse or horses; in the saddle. See also: Horseback . Additional security vehicles, both private and law enforcement, are added on weekends, too. Horseback units in the mall parking lot are an especially effective deterrent, said sheriff's Deputy Jeff Curran, who is assigned to the mall. ``When they're here, there are virtually no vehicle break-ins,'' Curran said. ``They're really popular with kids, too, so they're such a positive.'' The addition of radio communication has greatly enhanced law enforcement's crime prevention efforts, allowing merchants to communicate directly with law enforcement, Curran said. Nearly all of the mall's anchor stores anchor store n. A large store, such as a department store or supermarket, that is prominently located in a shopping mall to attract customers who are then expected to patronize the other shops in the mall. are equipped with the radios. Curran said earlier this week radio communication enabled law enforcement to foil a strong-arm robbery attempt. ``We were able to get there in seconds,'' Curran said. The mall has taken other steps to make shopping safer in the holiday season, including strictly enforcing mall rules regulating the numbers of youths allowed to assemble, which is designed to reduce gang presence. Private security enforces those rules. gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-7802 SHOPPING SAFETY TIPS Try not to carry too much cash. Shop in groups. Loners Loners (originally named Excelsior) are a group of Marvel Comics characters, a support group for former teenage superheroes, founded by Turbo of the New Warriors and Phil Urich, the heroic former Green Goblin. are easier targets. Park in well-lighted areas. Don't leave items visible in your car. Secure belongings belongings Noun, pl the things that a person owns or has with him or her Noun 1. belongings - something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone; "that hat is my property"; "he is a man of in your trunk. Have your car keys within easy reach when you leave the mall. CAPTION(S): box Box: (ran in AV edition only) SHOPPING SAFETY TIPS (see text) |
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