Top crime? Shoplifting

When a crime happens at Augusta Mall, it more than likely occurs on a weekend day.

According to incident reports from 2004 to 2008 provided by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, the majority of reported crime at the mall occurred Friday through Sunday. The most reported crime over the five-year period was for shoplifting.

The data, compiled by The Augusta Chronicle, found that crime reported at the mall increased 27 percent during that time span.

The Chronicle decided to take a look at crime there after a number of readers stated concerns about safety when a man was arrested two weeks ago for ramming into four bystanders, the mother of his child and his 4-month-old infant in the mall's parking lot.

Shoplifting makes up more than 48 percent of the crimes committed there, with 2,920 incidents reported over the five-year period. It's the only crime that has consistently increased over that stretch. Also making the top 10 were 482 sudden snatches, 372 larcenies and 364 cases of criminal trespassing reported from 2004 to 2008 at one of the area's largest shopping centers. Auto theft, which ranked eighth on the list, hit a high of 50 in 2005 but has decreased every year since.

The biggest spikes in crime were seen around Christmas time and during the summer.

"In the summer time, you have school out, so we see an increase with shoplifting that involves juveniles," said Richmond County sheriff's Sgt. Robert Cross, who oversees the deputies who patrol the mall. "Around Christmas, you have a lot of people wanting to get their shopping done for nothing."

In the first five months of this year, there have been fewer incidents reported at the mall compared to the same time last year. Fewer customers are frequenting the mall, which translates into fewer crime reports, Sgt. Cross said.

"It falls back to the economy," he said.

Augusta Mall general manager Linda Hardin would not comment on crime at the shopping center.

"We have a customized public safety program at Augusta Mall with many different facets for many different scenarios," Ms. Hardin wrote in an e-mail Thursday. "We do not publicly discuss our public safety because by doing so would compromise our efforts."

Nationally, retailers and shopping mall owners have seen shoplifting climb since the beginning of the economic downturn, said Casey Chroust, the spokesman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association. RILA surveyed owners of shopping malls, grocery stores and electronic stores and found that shoplifting, the only crime the association measured, increased 61 percent over the past four months.

"These are unbiased crimes. They are targeting rural and urban retailers," Mr. Chroust said. "People are stealing DVDs, games, jeans and T-shirts to put food on the table."

The economy has had an ripple effect on crime at shopping centers, said Chris McGoey, the owner of McGoey Security Consulting in Los Angeles. Because of the declining sales, many malls are sacrificing staff, including security.

"Security can make the difference. The mall has to facilitate them getting caught," Mr. McGoey said. "They have to know they will be caught, and security has to be visible."

Sgt. Cross said his deputies are highly visible and proactive when they patrol the mall. He does admit that the hours he and his deputies patrol the mall have decreased.

In spite of that, Sgt. Cross said Augusta Mall is still a safe place to shop.

"Criminal activity can happen downtown, at the movies or anywhere else," he said. "The mall is just a safe a place to bring your family as anywhere else on the weekend or during the week."

Lifelong Augusta Mall shopper Sharice Harper agreed.

"I shop here all the time, so I don't have any problem with it," she said while leaving the mall Thursday.

Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.