Shoplifters and car prowlers beware: You may encounter a person in a maroon shirt and flashy reflector vest next time you’re hanging around the parking lot of Westfield Vancouver mall this holiday season.
And yes, they’re on to you.
These Neighbors on Watch volunteers will join Vancouver police officers in keeping a watchful eye on the mall during the busy holiday season.
The police department’s yearly “Operation Christmas Presence” kicked off Wednesday in yuletide fashion, with a press conference and a friendly visit from Santa Claus.
The operation will bring more police patrols to the mall during peak hours, both inside and outside, through Christmas.
The holiday season brings more thieves trying to take advantage of harried Christmas shoppers, who leave their purses or shopping bags in their vehicles — only to return to find a window smashed and their valuables missing.
“The purpose is to help shoppers feel more secure and decrease the crimes of opportunity,” Vancouver police Lt. Douglas Luse told a small contingent of media representatives Wednesday.
Thanks to the Neighbors on Watch volunteers, who began patrolling last holiday season, the number of property crimes at the mall has decreased compared with previous years, Luse said.
Auto prowls and thefts were down 25 percent and general thefts dropped 29 percent. Overall, crime at the mall decreased 21 percent, Luse said.
While officers will monitor traffic flow at the mall’s three entrances, the NOW volunteers will sweep the parking lots in pairs and monitor the area from the top of the department’s Skywatch patrol tower.
The tower is collapsible and allows authorities to stake out high-crime spots.
“We don’t have the resources” to place several uniformed officers outside the mall, Luse said. “Neighbors on Watch provide an extra set of eyes and ears for us.”
Last holiday season, a vigilant volunteer in the police department’s tower spotted a fleeing robber dash from the mall. The volunteer radioed a police officer, who responded and quickly chased down the bandit.
That situation was rare, though. Things were fairly quiet last holiday season; there were few prowls and shoplifting incidents reported during the operation, police said.
NOW volunteer Luis Munoz thinks thieves got the hint once they saw the conspicuous reflector vests.
“It’s a deterrent,” Munoz said. “We’re just letting them know we’re here.”
