HYPERLOCAL NEWS HUB BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM
Changes in Security Near Busy C-Y Intersection
By Brett Martin and Felicia Pisarz/ MicroMemphis reporters
April 10, 2012
After a string of burglaries over the past month, store owners near Cooper and Central say some of the smallest things can change the big problems.
In an article by the Commercial Appeal, in January of this year, three male teens were seen running from a store with merchandise. Two motorists decided to pursue the thieves south on Cooper towards York Avenue. The teens dropped the clothes before attempting to jump a barbed wire fence into a towing yard. One of the teens was caught because his running was hindered by saggy pants.
Incidents like these have taught store managers in the area to find ways to fix the problem. For Urban Outfitters, after a little more than a year in the area, the need for changes in security is apparent.
April 10, 2012
After a string of burglaries over the past month, store owners near Cooper and Central say some of the smallest things can change the big problems.
In an article by the Commercial Appeal, in January of this year, three male teens were seen running from a store with merchandise. Two motorists decided to pursue the thieves south on Cooper towards York Avenue. The teens dropped the clothes before attempting to jump a barbed wire fence into a towing yard. One of the teens was caught because his running was hindered by saggy pants.
Incidents like these have taught store managers in the area to find ways to fix the problem. For Urban Outfitters, after a little more than a year in the area, the need for changes in security is apparent.
"Its made us smarter. We keep an eye out more now. Its obvious if someone is going to grab a stack of jeans that we need to keep an eye out," says Neil Bartlett, Urban Outfitters manager.
Shoplifting happens all around the country. According to Bartlett, Urban Outfitters has had a problem in all of its stores.
Shoplifting happens all around the country. According to Bartlett, Urban Outfitters has had a problem in all of its stores.
Small things can make a difference for clothing stores. A policy that requires each store to have a "greeter," not only shows hospitality to the customers, but it allows another level of security for the store as well.
Just across the street, Mapco manager, Shirley C., says that there hasn't been much of a change to their store recently. "Other than an addition of a couple more cameras, we haven't really done much." Shirley says. Customers can find more than a dozen cameras inside and out of their Mapco store. Also, an additional monitor is visible to the customers so they can see what the cameras are filming. Although the burglaries have not produced any major changes for these stores, Bartlett says that he has noticed an increased police presence in the area. "It seems to have calmed down, I know we've had cops kind of patrolling the area," says Bartlett. As for the Mapco, heavy parking lot traffic is a natural crime deterrent. Customers can find police officers stopping by at all hours of the day, whether patrolling, getting a fill-up or grabbing a snack. |
Brett Martin/ MicroMemphis reporterBrett Martin covers Safety for MicroMemphis. You can send him story ideas here. You can follow him on Twitter ( @bsmartin21 ) |
Felicia Pisarz/ MicroMemphis reporterFelicia Pisarz covers Safety for MicroMemphis You can send her story ideas here. You can follow her on twitter ( @FPisarz) |