Not All Welcome Mall Police Substation

Police say a planned substation at the Promenade Mall would put at least one officer on the walking beat there at a time when the mall is expanding.

But some mall neighbors say the effort will be a waste of public funds.

On Tuesday, the Police Commission approved a request by the mall’s management to install the storefront substation. The mall will charge the department $1 a year for 512 square feet of retail space.

The station will help the police prepare for the arrival at the mall of a new AMC theater complex that is expected to serve more than 2 million visitors yearly, according to Lt. Chuck Helm, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

An officer on site, he said, would discourage potential criminals. “It’s one more step in our effort to serve the public better,” Helm said.

Some in the neighborhood view the move as good public relations but bad public policy.

Public funds should not be used for the security of a private business such as the mall, said Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Home Owners Organization.

“The responsibility of the shopping center is to make it safe,” Murley said. “Now they want the police to come in because they don’t have the guts.”

He said that if security is so inadequate right now, private security officers should be allowed to arrest and take alleged criminals to the police station themselves.

The one officer who will patrol the mall alongside the guards is one less cop on the streets, Murley complained.

“The mall should be billed for it,” he said.