Police: NorthPark Sees "Alarming" Number of Crimes
Area's largest shopping mall sees sudden spike in crime
Updated 10:22 PM CST, Tue, Nov 18, 2008
The holiday shopping rush isn't even here yet, but crime is already up at North Texas' largest shopping center.
Four cars have been broken into, four people had their wallets or purses snatched and one woman was dragged across the Nordstrom parking garage for her purse in the past two weeks at NorthPark Center in Dallas.
"This is alarming, the number of crimes that have occurred there," Dallas police Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther said.
Carolyn Tuohy's Cadillac Escalade was broken into last week while she was watching a matinee with her daughter.
"I was just shocked that could happen at in the middle of the day at NorthPark," she said.
Tuohy said something needs to be done about the rise in crime.
"I don't plan on shopping there during the holidays," she said. "I normally do, but I just don't feel safe."
In May, Mary Boyd was shot in a NorthPark parking lot while she waited in her car for her daughter to come out of the movie theater.
A NorthPark representative said the mall has significantly increased security in the six months since the shooting by doubling the number of security guards in parking areas, increasing hours of security personnel and adding other crime deterrents the mall would not discuss.
Crowther said the Dallas Police Department will work with private security at NorthPark to try and bring the number of crimes down.
Police said they do not believe the crimes are connected, but are more likely a sign of the difficult economic times.
First Published: Nov 18, 2008 9:12 PM CST
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