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Off-duty cops can pose risk to centers

By Jon Springer

A few years ago on Long Island, an off-duty Nassau County police officer providing security for a jewelry store took off in pursuit of an armed robber through Garden City, N.Y.'s Roosevelt Field Mall. When the chase led outside, the officer drew his gun and fired, only to hit the side of a school bus full of handicapped elementary school students.

Nobody was hurt, but the lesson, while extreme, was clear: The same off-duty police officer hired to promote safety at a shopping center can also pose a danger to the interests of the center's management.

While hiring off-duty police is often the most effective remedy against serious crime at shopping centers, it can have drawbacks, experts say.

Police officers often have very different philosophies and training from typical security guards, and are required by law in some cases to behave in ways that can run counter to management's interests, experts say. Using police to bolster shopping center security therefore requires a very cautious approach.

"We like to take a measured approach by putting security out there and seeing what they can do. When it turns out an unarmed security guard can't handle it, then we move to the next phase," said Bill H. Strother, the corporate security manager for Weingarten Realty Management Co. Mr. Strother makes security recommendations for some 200 shopping centers owned and managed by the Houston-based firm.

In general, off-duty police are most effective in handling specific problems such as gangs, but day-to-day security is best left to security guards, said Paul E. Leyton, a Truckee, Calif.-based shopping center management consultant. Mr. Leyton was a vice president of New York-based Corporate Property Investors, the owner and manager of Roosevelt Field Mall, when the jewelry store robbery took place in the early 1980s.

"Off-duty policemen certainly give an imposing image -- particularly when dealing with teenagers or in centers that have serious problems such as drug dealers -- and mounted police in the parking lot are wonderful," he said. "But unless it's absolutely necessary to control crowds or there's a major problem in the parking lot, I would endeavor to avoid [using off-duty officers] due to reasons of perception and cost."

Hiring off-duty officers as independent contractors exposes the centers to liability should something go wrong. Also, many police departments will not extend benefits such as workman's compensation to officers not on duty; the landlord assumes those risks when using off-duty officers.

"With a security company, you're working with a contract, and there's indemnity clauses in that contract to protect the landlord," Mr. Strother said. "If you utilize a police officer, then the company is taking on the full risk of everything that [officer] does. You have no indemnification."

Centers can reduce their liability risks by hiring off-duty officers through the police department. However, this costs considerably more, since centers must pay overtime rates for those officers, who tend to make twice the hourly rate of a security guard. Furthermore, when hiring through the department, police administrators, not the center's management, decide which officers will work at the center.

"The senior officers of the department will often mete out the largesse of the overtime to their friends," Mr. Leyton said. "Unless you have a great relationship with them, you're not always sure who you're going to get."

That issue is important because police officers tend to have different training and philosophies from security guards, he said. Police officers are generally trained to "catch" criminals, while a security guard's primary purpose is to uphold the policies of the center while serving as a customer-service representative for center management.

"It's difficult to get [police] to do the customer-
service things that we want our security department to accomplish," said Gene Thompson, vice president of corporate security for The Macerich Co., Santa Monica, Calif. "If Mom is struggling with kids and her packages, we want a security officer to help her get her bags to the car. An off-duty police officer might say, 'Nonsense, it's not my job.' "

One center managed by Macerich, Mall Del Norte in Laredo, Texas, has a security staff consisting only of off-duty Webb County police officers. Mr. Thompson said the staff there has worked out well over the years, but Mall Del Norte is an exception and not the rule at Macerich.

But when you need "the power of the badge," off-duty police are the way to go, Mr. Strother said. In many areas, police officers can only enforce the rules of the jurisdiction where they are commissioned, he added. That can make enforcing specific policies of the center -- a dress code, for instance -- difficult for an officer without citing a law violation and making an arrest.

"A police officer needs a law to back him up to enforce rules, while a security guard can enforce your rules and regulations -- whatever you feel is prudent for your company," Mr. Strother said.

Because of their obligation to uphold the law, sworn officers also could be required to leave their posts at a shopping center to respond to a crime elsewhere, he noted.

Nevertheless, some property managers have found ways for police officers to "fit" in a shopping center. In-line police substations, staffed by on-duty community relations officers, serve the dual purpose of giving the center the perception of a police presence while fostering a positive relationship between the center, its shoppers and the police, said Mr. Thompson of Macerich.

"Community oriented policing is a new word for an old idea -- it means getting out in the community and interacting and providing help to people, rather than being armed warriors who come into town to arrest the bad guys," said Mr. Thompson, noting that community policing is getting more emphasis now that federal funds for it have become available.

"The officers who work those assignments understand what we're trying to accomplish," he added. "They're not bent on arresting people; their purpose is to interact and help people through their daily problems."

Community relations officers like being in high-traffic locations such as malls, where they can interact with the maximum number of people, according to shopping center officials. Likewise, the community benefits by knowing there's a place outside the intimidating atmosphere of a police station where they can find help.

"We've found that battered women will come for help in a shopping center environment where there's no stigma, rather than going to the police station, which can be intimidating, or having the police come by their house," Mr. Thompson said. "For us, we have the police presence and another benefit for our customers when they visit us. It's a win-win deal."

A good relationship with local police can often lessen the need to hire off-duty officers, Mr. Thompson pointed out. In addition, making a contribution to the police department's budget to help hire additional officers is another way around the issue.

"If we see a [gang] problem that's developing and we need that extra security presence, the first thing we'd do is talk to the local police department and ask them to bring in their gang task force to help solve that problem, because it's in their best interest," Mr. Thompson said. "If they couldn't do that, then we'd look toward hiring an off-duty officer."

Experts agree that no two communities or shopping centers are exactly the same, so a careful consideration of the needs of the center -- as well as the police -- is necessary before any security decisions are made.

"You have to analyze your situation, determine what you can live with and choose what's best for you," Mr. Strother said. "There's a lot of pressure to create a standard for how many officers you need in a center, but making the decision about police officers is a judgment decision you have to make based on information you as a prudent landlord have accumulated.

"You have to do your crime stats, be aware of what's going on the neighborhood and stay in touch with local law enforcement."