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Pavilion crime
stretches F'ville police resources
By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com
Shoplifters and thieves are naturally attracted to the retail stores at
the Fayette Pavilion.
But in recent months, the area has attracted a number of auto-related
crimes as well.
Five vehicles have been stolen from the center’s parking lots in
the past two months, according to records at the Fayetteville Police Department.
Eight other vehicles were entered by crooks, who’ve stolen a laptop
computer and an extravagant stereo system, among other items.
Store patrons aren’t totally in the clear once inside, either. Two
purses have been reported stolen from shopping carts, according to police
records.
The police department has responded to the increased criminal activity
by conducting an undercover operation that lasted from Aug. 14-25, said
Chief Johnny Roberts. The sting resulted in several arrests thanks to
the work of patrol officers, plainclothes detectives and bike patrol officers,
Roberts said.
“We saturated the area during certain hours we had determined were
prime times from our previous data,” the chief said. “They just
went over there, sat, watched and observed.”
The criminals they collared did the rest. One was brazen enough to take
a saw from the bed of a truck, Roberts added. The man was arrested and
officers were able to recover several other items that had been taken,
Roberts said.
The department doesn’t have enough manpower to assign an officer
to the Pavilion full-time, Roberts said. But the agency’s officers
spend time there when they’re not busy elsewhere, he added.
The department is at full staff with 26 patrolmen on the streets, Roberts
said.
The Pavilion doesn’t have its own private security force similar
to what some malls use, Roberts said. But some stores at the Pavilion
have in-store security forces or loss prevention employees, Roberts said.
Fayetteville police plan to conduct more efforts similar to the recent
“saturation” coverage that helped net the arrests, Roberts added.
The effort did take a toll on the department, however, since it caused
all the detectives to put cases on the backburner unless they had a high
priority, Roberts said.
“We’ll do this periodically, and not just at the Pavilion,”
Roberts pledged.
The best way for local residents to avoid becoming victims is to take
necessary precautions, Roberts added. That means locking up the car, storing
valuables in the trunk instead of in plain view and being aware of your
surroundings, Roberts said.
“I’ve seen it myself: a convertible with the top down and cell
phones laying on the seat,” Roberts recalled. “Why don’t
you put up a sign there that says ‘steal me’?
“... People want to steal and if you leave it there, people are going
to steal it,” he added.
Roberts said he wouldn’t consider the Pavilion as currently having
a “serious crime problem” because the majority of crimes being
reported are property crimes.
“Any time you have stores, you’re going to have shoplifting,
forgery and credit card fraud,” the chief said. “... We focus
on the Pavilion because it’s such a massive influx of people.”
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