Concord police increase patrols this holiday season
KTVU - 'Tis the season for crime to spike at your neighborhood shopping center , but one Bay Area city is fighting back.
Uniformed officers are backing up the mall cops in Concord and it's making a difference.
The police patrols have cut crime in the vicinity in half this year.
"The biggest thing is just being highly visible so that everybody sees us, " Officer Kristen Thoms told KTVU, as she cruised the parking lots around Sun Valley Mall.
On Sunday night, Thoms was one of three officers monitoring the mall, inside and out, watching for crimes of opportunity.
Car burglaries and muggings are more likely when shoppers are distracted and loaded with packages.
"I think the more we get out and talk to people, whether they look suspicious or not, being visible will prevent crimes from even occuring," added Thoms.
"It kind of threw me, I was kind of surprised, to see them out here," admitted shopper David James of Concord.
Like most customers, he is more accustomed to the private security that's on site year-round. But James figures, since crowds can increase trouble, increased enforcement makes sense.
"There can be fights, you know, with kids," observed James.
"I haven't seen anything extravagant, but I've seen fights. There need to be a limit on that, especially this time of the season."
As shoppers stood in line for photos with Santa Claus, two officers also posed for pictures and handed out stickers to children.
"We have a close, tight community and they love seeing us out here," smiled Corporal Chris Blakely, who readily greeted everyone with 'how 'ya doin' and holiday wishes.
In addition to deterring crime, it's hoped police presence will encourage community outreach.
"I think it's an excellent use of their time, " shopper Kristina Krugman of Pittsburg told KTVU.
"It makes us feel safer when we have all these babies here, especially this time of the year."
Mall patrols are possible because the department has added about a dozen officers in recent years.
The sworn force now stands at 153, so a few can be spared from regular duty.
"It's a luxury we couldn't do and got away from the past couple of years," noted Cpl. Blakely, "but now we're at the staffing levels that we're able to have it again."
Most appreciative: the merchants.
They've noticed shoplifting is down and having an officer close by means they don't have to wait for a cop to respond from across town to catch or transport a thief.
"It is somebody with authority here in the mall to help protect us," longtime Brookstone employee Eric Brink told KTVU.
"Unfortunately with a lot of shoplifters, by the time you get mall security and they go after them, they don't do anything for us."
Sun Valley Mall and nearby shopping plazas will see even more officers on patrol when local schools go on break, and campus officers can be added.
The enhanced enforcement is set to last through the first week of January.