Americans have become more willing to accept increased security screenings, but it’s unlikely U.S. mall owners would install metal detectors or other screening devices to prevent crime, retail experts said Wednesday.
Shoppers have called for increased security measures at Aurora Mall following a shooting Tuesday that killed one person and injured two others. One woman interviewed by The Denver Post said metal detectors would help customers feel safer at the mall.
No U.S. shopping center has adopted such an approach, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group.
“We’ve never seen it done in the United States,” said Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the council. Some countries, such as Israel, that deal with frequent terrorist attacks, have implemented such measures, he said.
Similarly, many American venues – government buildings and tourist attractions among them – have boosted their security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. A survey of shoppers, however, indicated they would acquiesce to such procedures in malls only in cases of extreme terrorist threats, Kavanagh said.
As such, the use of detectors to prevent mall crime appears unlikely because they would probably turn away more customers than they would placate.
“There are many (people) that would be offended or affronted if they had to go through some kind of search,” Kavanagh said.
Aurora Mall is confident in its existing security, which relies on a private contractor, a police substation inside the mall and parental patrols, general manager Tish Glenn Taylor said Thursday.
“We have been very diligent in creating a safe, comfortable and secure shopping environment,” she said.
The mall’s approach to security is typical of other centers, said Robert McCrie, a professor of security management at City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“As far as metal detectors, that’s a rather unappealing suggestion,” McCrie said. “It would certainly turn off most customers. If it’s like pre-boarding screening at airports, those malls would slowly wither away.”
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
