Each year, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office implements the Annual Robbery Prevention Mobilization to deter crime during the holiday for shoppers in the parking lots at the Prien Lake Mall, Southgate Shopping Center, and the Power Center, seven days a week from noon until closing.

According to a media release,

Deputies were available to assist shoppers with such things as helping them find their car, jump starting their car if the battery is dead, changing a flat, assisting employees and shoppers by walking them to their car after dark, or any other assistance they could provide.

Here's a list of incidents that deputies responded to during the holiday mobilization:

  • 1,265 assistance calls
  • 776 total business checks
  • 1 unlocked vehicle
  • 7 assists to other agencies
  • 5 shoplifting incidents
  • 36 suspicious persons
  • 17 misdemeanor summons / arrests
  • 1 fight
  • 22 vehicle-traffic related incidents

Deputies were not hired by the mall nor were they doing security for the mall. It was a "special detail to provide assistance to the public during the busy holiday season". Also, "having law enforcement present in the parking lots during the holidays is "expected to deter crime in the parking lots".

It's the 15th year that the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office has provided this service during the holiday season.

More From My Magic LC 92.1 FM