TUSTIN : Police Man Office in Shopping Mall

The Police Department is hoping to make shopping this season a little more safe and worry-free.

In an effort to reduce theft during the pre-Christmas shopping chaos, the department has opened a storefront office in the Tustin Market Place. Police and local store owners say they are pleased with the results.

“We know there’s a greater tendency for auto burglary and for people leaving their Christmas presents exposed in the back seat of their vehicles,” Officer Houston Williams said.

“We wanted people to see us in and around the Market Place, to respond to the needs of the people, and to let them see we weren’t bogymen out there trying to mess up their holidays.”

The department usually has one or two officers working out of the mall office, either walking around the mall or patrolling the parking lots on bicycles or in cars, Williams said.

“It’s very positive,” said Ann Song, owner of Twinkle Gifts and Photo in the mall. “We know there’s not going to be too much shoplifting, and nobody would cause problems. It’s much more orderly and it feels much safer. The customers are very happy that their cars or their presents aren’t going to get stolen.”

The police began operating out of the mall shortly after Thanksgiving and will continue through the new year, Williams said.

The vacant store was loaned to the Police Department by the managers of the Tustin Market Place, who say they also are happy having a police presence in the mall.

“It’s successful, the community seems to enjoy it,” said Tammy McAfee, assistant property manager of the Market Place. “The police are approachable, and we felt it would help the shopping center as a whole.”

Hoping to create a positive image and to make themselves accessible, the police have decorated their store windows with displays aimed at children, including a remote-control, talking car.

“It’s a positive thing for children,” McAfee said. “It’s a high traffic area, and the police make a good impression on them.”

Song said she thinks that having police around has helped her business. In the past, she said, some shoppers seemed afraid to stay at the mall after dark.

“Before, parents would go rushing home at night with their kids when it got dark,” she said. “Now they walk around and browse because now it’s safe to stay.”