Beefing up security

Malls, like populated cities, are often congested into confined areas, bustling with local browsers and holiday visitors, and places like Fashion Island can see thousands of customers come through a day, using their vast parking lots and walking the immense amount of square feet, spending hours to find gifts for friends and loved ones.

That is why the Newport Beach Police Department makes it a point to strengthen security during the holiday season — thousands of cars, parked for long periods of time in a single location could be as attractive to burglars as some of the holiday sales are to shoppers.

But bike officers Robert Foss and Brandon Rodriquez are there to deter criminal behavior. They cruise on their bikes, taking a break from their normal patrol on the Balboa Peninsula to look after holiday shoppers.

“We want this to be a safe environment,” said Foss, an eight-year veteran of Newport Beach police and a retired Marine.

“We want to deter shoplifting and vehicle burglary.”

Newport Beach police added a T3 segway, along with the two bike patrols, to make their security presence known. The extra patrols start after Thanksgiving and continue until the new year.

The officers start their patrol when the shopping heats up around midday. They do a couple round trips, circling the mall, checking the parking lots and gauging the shopping presence for the day.

After that, they continue their patrol through the mall’s interior, either on foot or on bikes.

“The whole advantage of the bike is the level of stealthiness and maneuverability,” said Foss, who said he has had to use the bike to run down criminals more than one would expect.

The officers handle petty theft booking by working with stores and mall security force. They also enlist help from shoppers if they see anything out of the ordinary, according to Foss.

Crime at malls is an issue, especially for the potential of a car being burglarized, but Foss said Newport Beach is one of the safer shopping centers.

“We really have to attribute [the low crime rate] to Fashion Island security personnel,” Foss said. “They are very proactive.”

Burglary at Fashion Island has risen to 33 in 2006 since it reached a 15-year low in 2002 with 15 burglaries. But the 33 burglaries is still considerably low in comparison to crime in the ’90s which often climbed to more than 70 burglaries a year, and twice spiked at more than 100 within the decade. The median average for burglaries since 2000 is 27, while it was 72 in the 90s.

Foss reported they have seen little crime this season. They haven’t noticed any trends, but have seen multiple thefts of designer jeans. Also, they have heard reports that Chevrolet Tahoes and Suburbans have been targeted by car thieves, but haven’t heard of any thefts at Fashion Island.

Despite the low crime, they keep an eye out for “opportunists” looking for “that open door” or trying to nab an unwatched purse.

With a week left before Christmas, Rodriquez and Foss expect a spike in burglary attempts with the amount of shoppers to increase.