Police Bear Down on Holiday Crime

It had been a quiet Monday afternoon at the Arcadia Police Department’s satellite station at Santa Anita Fashion Park until a woman accused of shoplifting was brought in by a security guard from J.C. Penney Co.

The woman was read her rights and booked in a trailer outside the mall before she was taken to the police station for fingerprinting.

She is one of 19 suspects who have been processed in the trailer since it opened Dec. 1.

Police said the trailer operation saves patrol officers time and serves as a deterrent to crime. It is one way in which malls in the San Gabriel Valley, like those elsewhere in the county, have added security measures during the holiday season.

At the Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry, Sheriff’s Department reserves patrol the parking lot each weekend on horseback, a move that Bob Carte, general manager of the mall, said provides high visibility for law enforcement officers.

Like other shopping centers, West Covina Fashion Plaza has added extra security personnel both inside and outside the mall.

Records from police departments all over Los Angeles County show that more items are shoplifted, more purses are snatched and more packages are stolen from cars during this season than at any other time of the year.

Most mall managers interviewed would not say how many extra guards they take on during the holiday season or how much money is lost to crime. Security officials at the malls said that crowd and traffic control is the main reason for beefed-up security.

“We do not have a security problem,” said Carte of the Puente Hills Mall. “Our extra security is there to handle crowds.”

But Southern California, with its combination of balmy winter weather and some of the nation’s busiest malls, draws criminals from throughout the country, according to Los Angeles Police Sgt. Dan Cook, who said crime generally increases about 10% during the holiday season.

“If it’s any comfort, you’re less likely to be killed,” Cook said of the holiday season. “The holidays is our lowest time for murders. But every kind of theft goes up in December.”

Last December, Cook said, robberies, burglaries and larcenies in Los Angeles increased to 12,000, from about 10,000 in November. December also is the month with the most car thefts.

To help combat that problem, the Arcadia Police Department has operated its satellite station for the past seven years at Santa Anita Fashion Park from Dec. 1 through Dec. 26. The 19 booked so far this year face charges ranging from shoplifting to bicycle and auto theft.

Santa Anita is the only mall in the San Gabriel Valley with its own satellite police station.

Two officers man the unit during mall hours, with one strolling the mall or checking the parking lot while the other handles suspects brought to the trailer by store security guards and gives information to shoppers.

So far this year, there have been more visitors than suspects, said officer Robert Williams.

“I hear you have free coloring books,” said one child who happened into the trailer this week. Williams handed the boy a coloring book with an emphasis on drug and health-related subjects. About an hour later, he listened when a woman came in to complain that someone threw a soft drink all over her new Mercedes.

“It helps to be here on Saturdays because it frees the officers in the field, but when it is this quiet it seems useless,” Williams said.

“But I can see the point of having us here because we are a deterrent for crime in the parking lot. It’s also good community relations.”

Christopher Schardt, general manager at the Santa Anita mall, said it’s “comforting to know” that the trailer is nearby. “It is always manned by two officers and we also have four or five Explorer Scouts from the Police Department in the parking lots.

“We have no serious crime problems--we have had no purse snatchings this season and only minor shoplifting--but the more people there are, the more potential there is for problems.”

West Covina Fashion Plaza has considered the idea of a substation, said general manager Michael Shulman, but does not think it is necessary because the Police Department is right across the street.

“The police tend to be around the mall more than in most cities because we are right across the street and the police response time is fast because they are so close,” he said.

At Plaza Pasadena, two uniformed officers patrol the mall and the parking garage, said general manager Patty Maude.

“In addition we have extra security people, some in uniform and some in plainclothes,” she said. “We also have a security hot line in all our stores.

“But the police in uniform act as a good visual deterrent because their presence is very well known. And it makes people feel safe to come shopping here when they see all the uniforms.”

Police and security guards alike, however, maintain that such measures should not lull shoppers into a false sense of security.

“A big part of crime prevention rests with the shopper,” said the Los Angeles Police Department’s Cook. “There are a lot of things consumers can do to make sure they don’t become victims.”

Among the recommendations of various police and security officials:

- Walk down aisles of parking lots instead of between cars. Muggers often lurk between parked cars, Cook warned.

- Keep purchases in the car trunk, out of sight.

- Avoid walking out of the mall alone, and don’t carry too many bags at once. “Shoppers carrying armfuls of packages are not paying attention to what’s going on around them,” Cook said. “Thieves look for that.”

- Keep wallets, credit cards and checkbooks separate. That way, if someone grabs your purse, you won’t lose everything. And keep a separate listing of credit card numbers at home in case they do get stolen.

- Don’t dump your purse, wallet or credit card into the shopping bag.

- Be careful when walking in crowds. “Lots of crooks work in teams,” Cook said. “One bumps you while the other lifts your wallet. You have to constantly be aware of what’s around you.

- Try not to shop alone. Go with a friend and go during the day if it’s at all possible.

- Lock your car door and take your keys, even if you expect to be gone only a few minutes. “A couple of months ago, we timed a guy on how long it would take for him to break into a car,” Cook said. “To jimmy the door on a Porsche, reach in, grab the Blaupunkt stereo and go running down the street took this guy seven seconds.”

Cook said Los Angeles police use Explorer Scouts to leave notes on the dashboards of cars with unlocked doors. “In effect it says, ‘Hey dummy, don’t leave your car unlocked,”’ Cook said. If the keys are left in the ignition, the Scout will remove them and leave a note advising the owner where they can be picked up.

In general, police advise customers to stay alert.

“Did you ever watch people’s faces while they’re shopping?” Cook asked. “They walk around in a fog. They’re fighting through the crowds, looking at Christmas displays, listening to the music. Meanwhile, their purses are dangling from their shoulders, wallets in plain view, packages in their arms. They’re perfect pigeons.

“If a criminal really wants your goods, he’s going to get them,” Cook said. “But there are a lot of things you can do to discourage them.”