The Security of Shopping Malls

The notion that security is a situational discipline is especially relevant when applied to shopping centers. Shopping Centers/Malls generally come in one of two broad configurations; enclosed contiguous malls and strip malls. Both configurations have special needs from a security perspective. However, to a greater degree, the location of either category of shopping center is a primary determinant as to how much security is sufficient. When determining a reasonable standard of care for how much security is adequate is a difficult imprecise task. Strip malls are intentionally very accessible compared to most other business enterprises. The ratio of surface parking spaces to actual retail space is usually quite high. This means that there are a full range of security issues the must strictly ensuring safety in parking areas. Parking security vulnerabilities are differentiated between surface lot parking and parking structures. Some of the key considerations include surveillance, lighting, accessibility and housekeeping.

With enclosed malls, because of the finite points of ingress and egress, the ability to somewhat control, and more importantly, potentially monitor access, is enhanced. In other words, when circumstances dictate the need for elevated security for special circumstances, it is easier to pull it off in an enclosed mall as compared to a strip mall shopping center. The level of criminality in either strip malls or enclosed malls is to a large degree a reflection of surrounding environs. This means that security programs must be reflective of the surrounding threats in the neighborhood.

Well designed security programs, all though not a guarantor can produce effective results, even in high crime neighborhoods. Within our litigation practice, we at Security Management Services International, Inc. (SMSI Inc.) have seen several malls in areas with elevated crime statistics. In some we were able to determine that the safest place one could be in that otherwise high crime neighborhood, was at the mall. However, serious crimes against persons are certainly not restricted to inner city malls. One needs only to look at the mall shooting cases that have occurred over the past several years to know that bad things can happen in suburbia.

Effective mall security programs must reflect a partnership between private security and local Law Enforcement. Those law enforcement considerations may include the average frequency that police squads cruise the mall property. However, it also must include consideration of a worst case scenario response time. We have found that small town and suburban police departments are much more willing and able to partner up with malls than police departments in large major cities. It is not that large city police departments do not want to get involved; it is more a logistical problem because they are stretched so thin.

The answer to the question: "How much security is enough?" must be based on facts, not speculation. Before the first security officer is hired or the first CCTV camera is mounted, it is advisable to conduct a professional and objective security assessment of the property, including the surrounding neighborhoods. Lacking the foundational platform that would result from an effective security review, there is a reasonable chance that a crisis management derived security program will look like a patchwork quilt. Security programs that are improperly derived often lack cohesiveness and a unified sense of purpose. Under optimal conditions, all the components of the security program must be integrated so as to produce a result where the sum of the parts is greater than the sum of the whole.

How much is enough? The answer to this question is much more difficult in the absence of a security assessment. The security assessment should produce a cost effective solution that blends the use of security personnel with the effective use of technology. Good security is also a participative sport in that all mall employees and tenants must participate for the good of the greater whole.

If you are looking for ideas and solutions, call SMSI Inc. today (805-499-3800).