On patrol at malls

Greg Risling

NEWPORT-MESA -- Mixed in between the thousands of shoppers who will

flood stores and shopping malls over the next month are the crooks who

are trying to pull a fast one.

Shoplifters. Burglars. People using stolen credit cards.

In order to keep crime to a minimum at major shopping centers, police

departments have added more officers to patrol areas such as South Coast

Plaza and Fashion Island.

The officers can pose as thrifty shoppers or drive around in marked cars.

You never know where they are going to be next.

“We see such a large influx of people, we want to provide the safest

environment for shoppers,” said Newport Beach Police Lt. Richard Long.

“We want to do what we can to prevent auto burglaries, shoplifting and

robberies.”

Both the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police departments have directed

more officers to patrol their shopping hubs. Police don’t like to release

the number of officers during the holiday season but both departments

pledged more resources.

The support seemed to have paid off if only for a day. Police saw little

criminal activity on the day after Thanksgiving, sometimes referred to as

“Black Friday.” Only Costa Mesa police made one shopping mall arrest and

that was drug related.

“It’s been relatively calm,” said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Dave Hamel. “The

more officers we have the more likely we are to discourage any potential

thieves from trying to take advantage of larger crowds.”

Hamel said he thinks the huge throng of customers during the holiday

season is beneficial to preventing crime.

“They [thieves] think they can blend into a crowd but that isn’t always

the case,” Hamel added. “The more people there are, the more witnesses we

have. And, the thieves never know whether that shopper is a police

officer.”