Crime does not need to hamper what may already be a down year for holiday shopping. While most wallets are already taking a hit, the last thing you need is for your security to do the same.
Crime is on shopper Jean Slaughter's mind as she starts to prepare her holiday lists and hit area malls.
"[I’m not concerned] in broad daylight, but I wouldn't come here at night time by myself."
ABC2 News chose one shopping center in each of the four surrounding counties; breaking down each center's crime stats leading up to the holiday season.
Take the Mall at Columbia in Howard County from January of this year through August. In those eight months the mall had 12 robberies, about 500 thefts from 50 dollars to more than 200, one automobile theft and 29 assaults.
In Baltimore County at Towson Town Center, there were 19 assaults, four thefts from cars, two robberies and no motor vehicle thefts during the same eight months.
In Harford County at the Festival at Bel Air, there were 49 incidents of theft and two assaults from January through August.
The intent is not to compare and contrast different malls but simply inform you of the crime numbers you need to know as you begin your holiday shopping, keeping in mind that places like the Fesitval at Bel Air serves a lot less people than Arundel Mills Mall.
"That comfortable safe shopping environment is a top priority and we work very hard, use a lot of different tactics to make sure that we provide it for our shoppers," said Wendy Ellis, Director of Marketing for Arundel Mills
Ellis says that hard work is paying off. Last year's crime numbers for the mall were arguably some of the highest in the area. This year though there have only been 14 assaults, down nearly 50 percent, 20 auto thefts, down nearly 40 percent. And then there was general theft. Arundel Mills Mall had 864 thefts in the first eight months of 2008, but for the same time this year only 385; a drop of 55 percent.
"Yes absolutely we're thrilled the stats have come down but that doesn't make it any less of a priority any other time of the year. It is a number 1, 100 percent of the time, 24, 7, 365. This is what we do."
Ellis says the mall added T3 machines to help patrols in addition to regular foot patrols and security officers on segways. There is also an elaborate security camera system and more vigilant vendors.
Those measures plus a good relationship with Anne Arundel County Police have helped bring the crime numbers down and put shoppers like Slaughter more at ease.
"Sure it does. You would hope all the malls will do that, have more guards policing the shopping, parking lots."
Security, vigilance and now knowledge arming shoppers against those annual crimes of opportunities.
