Security For Shopping Malls
The security when it comes to a shopping mall has been an issue taken extremely seriously for a long time. With the world being what it is, with terrorism, insecurities and violence, security planners is well aware of the status of a large mall as a target for terrorism of any kind since it is imbedded into its very nature to have a large influx of people constantly moving around. That provides opportunities for people intent of doing bad to slip through the cracks.
Avoiding Crowds
What a lot of architects are looking at today when it comes to constructing a mall, or reconstructing an existing one, is to avoid to the highest extent possible that large crowds constantly are gathered in one and the same place. For large crowds are also a magnet for petty thievery such as pick-pocketing. So nowadays architects try to spread out the eras which are known to gather a crowd, such as the food-court, the water fountains with accompanying benches and other places to sit and rest for a while.
They are also trying to optimize the pedestrian flow when it comes to the physical design of the place. A star shaped mall is a design that forces people to pass through the middle going from aisle to the other, in the process causing an inconvenient crowding, where as a round design do not have to battle that issue.
Getting There And Away
With including public transportation to its services, it tends to create another problem, since a lot of people not intent on shopping can just take the bus to the mall and walk around creating a disturbance. And where many mall owners go wrong, is that they place the bus-stop in a remote place, but still in the malls vicinity, with the intent of not having disturbing non-shoppers getting off the city bus and harassing the true mall visitors.
The Eye In The Sky
Surveillance and a great and up-to date surveillance system is of course key in order to provide security for the customers. There are a lot of different systems, but to have one that is active 24/7 is definitely to recommend.
The Parking Lot Curse
A parking lot is naturally an essential ingredient in the infrastructure surrounding a mall, but it is also a natural breeding ground for all types of crime. A majority of mall owners has committed themselves to really come to terms with the both the petty crimes taking place at the mall’s parking lot, but also armed robberies and even in some cases kidnappings.
Here most owners have installed state-of-the art surveillance equipment as well as backing that system up with heavy patrolling by specially trained security guards. Since the underground parking lot is a very specific environment to be in, you also have to meet specific requirements in order to know what you should be looking for and how to see it.
What you can be sure of though, is that every shopping mall is taking this question seriously, and are doing everything to prevent crime.