HOLIDAY SHOPPING SCENE : Making Malls Merry : Managers of the Centers Boost Security to Protect Customers

Security at shopping malls, always tighter during the holidays, is even more intense this year as centers seek to reassure shoppers in the wake of recent violent attacks at malls in the Los Angeles area and across the nation.

Most of the security efforts are focused on the most vulnerable sites in malls, such as parking areas where cars are unattended, although managers have also beefed up patrols inside the malls.

At Northridge Fashion Center, a squad of citizen volunteers watches over the parking lot from the roof, looking for possible car thieves. Teen-age Explorer Scouts patrol the parking lot at Media City Center in Burbank, where local police opened a new substation Friday. At the Plaza at West Covina, a security guard patrols the two-story parking garage with a cart acquired in time for the holidays.

At Fox Hills Mall in Culver City, security guards are working staggered hours this Christmas season to increase staffing on evenings and weekends, when most people shop. A parking lot bicycle patrol that started last year has been expanded.

“Our main focus is to increase visibility,” said Russ Joyner, manager of Fox Hills Mall. “You hear about isolated incidents elsewhere, and you have to be concerned.”

No specific statistics are kept on crimes at shopping malls, but police and mall managers in Glendale, Burbank, Northridge and several other communities said that crime at shopping centers was equal to last year, or down slightly.

Publicity about violent attacks in recent months has heightened the perception that malls have become more dangerous, a notion that can be as damaging to business as an actual increase in crime. Concerns about crime were raised this fall with the fatal carjacking and kidnaping of a mother from a mall in suburban Maryland. That incident was followed in November by the kidnaping and rape of two women from Long Beach Plaza.

Last year, there were the highly publicized “mall murders,” random killings of several people abducted from malls in the San Gabriel Valley. On Friday, two men and two women were convicted in that case and face sentencing next month.

Shoppers interviewed this week said fears about crime haven’t kept them from the shopping malls. Several said they changed their shopping habits, however, and avoid going out at night or alone.

Lorie Coppola, who was shopping at the Plaza at West Covina with her sister, Sheri, Thursday evening said she wraps her key chain around her fingers as she walks through the parking lot to use as a weapon, if necessary. “I’ve never had to use it, but if I need to, I’m ready,” she said.

“It’s on your mind all the time,” said Sheri Coppola. She said she takes care to park her car under a light post near a mall entrance and looks around cautiously until she gets inside the mall.

At Long Beach Plaza on Friday, Annetta Kelly said she no longer carries a purse when shopping and does not go out after dark since the violence last month, despite increased security at the mall. “I see more guards around, and I do feel safer, but there is still apprehension,” she said.

Seeking ways to reassure the public, the International Council of Shopping Centers held its first conference on security a month ago to discuss such topics as a mall’s “safety image” and new surveillance technology. It was attended by 280 mall officials from across the country.

Clyde Ahl, manager of the Plaza at West Covina, said security measures are as much intended to comfort shoppers as to deter crime. In a new program, security guards check parked cars for forgotten keys, unlocked doors or packages in full view. If keys are found, guards leave notes telling customers to retrieve them from the security office. In other situations, guards leave notes advising customers to lock doors or to hide packages.

During the first three weeks, guards used up 500 message slips, said Ahl, who intends to continue the program beyond the holidays. “We’re letting our customers know that we are out there, and we are concerned with safety,” he said.

Police officials also emphasized increased visibility. Burbank police said they have stepped up patrols at Media City Center, with help from Explorer Scouts equipped with walkie-talkies to alert police to possible trouble. Mall officials credit the Scouts, who are patrolling the mall for the first time this year, with preventing two auto break-ins.

Burbank police said the stepped-up patrols have had an effect. Criminal activity at the mall is the same as last year when only half the mall was open, police said.

In Northridge, the Devonshire police division assembled a citizen band of 50 volunteers, equipped with binoculars and walkie-talkies, to patrol the mall’s parking lot from the roof and other vantage points. If the volunteers spot suspicious activity, they radio police, who then move in to ask questions.

Los Angeles Police Lt. Kyle Jackson, who supervises the civilian squad, said no cars have been stolen from the mall while the special patrol has been on duty. He said there have been several car thefts at other times, though exact figures were not available.

At Long Beach Plaza, officials refused to comment on efforts to beef up patrols since the November attacks, but shoppers said the difference was apparent. Security cars regularly weave through the parking garage, and foot patrols are visible inside and outside the mall.

Paul Williams, shopping with his wife and two young children at Long Beach Plaza, said he is less concerned about becoming a victim than being taken for a suspect. Williams, who is black, said some store clerks look at him suspiciously if he browses too long. “Instead of watching for crime, they are watching me,” he said.