ST. LOUIS — You just spent the day (and your paycheck) checking family and friends off of your gift list while gliding around the mall and stores. Now, you're in the parking lot, it's dark and you're suddenly alone. What is your plan? Safety and security might be top of mind.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, parking lots and garages account for more than 10% of all property offenses. Additionally, the FBI reports parking lots and garages are the third highest location for violent crime in the nation.
This shopping season can provide the perfect environment for crime: dark parking garage lighting, high turnover of shoppers and potentially lower visibility on surveillance.
Tami Ivy from Brookfield Properties (The Galleria) said, "Like with any mall or shopping center, you'll wanna lock your car and not have any visible packages and be aware - and not be focusing or your phone or headphones."
What about if you're one of the 142,000 retail workers in St. Louis?
"Safety for everyone at our malls is very important," Ivy said. "We encourage our employees to leave in groups if they can. We have security check-ins when the mall closes at strategic locations."
Also, it's useful to be aware of security officers driving around the mall and parking lot. You can observe them and do your parking lot walking near when you see them, whether you're working or shopping.
As always, awareness is key.
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