DATE: Friday, March 14, 1997                TAG: 9703140656

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

MILITARY CIRCLE MALL TO TIGHTEN SECURITY WITH 18 NEW CAMERAS

To ease shoppers' concerns about crime, Military Circle Mall plans to add an 18-camera video security system that will provide a clear view of the Norfolk center's sprawling parking lot.

The new video system is so accurate that it can zoom in on license plates and check whether a quarter lying on the pavement is ``heads or tails,'' said Rick Polley, the mall's general manager.

``This is definitely a fine design, absolutely state of the art,'' Polley said.

Mall operators have been increasingly stung by the perception that shopping centers aren't safe. So, they've been taking actions to make customers feel more comfortable.

``They seem to step up and recognize that their mall safety is crucial to their marketing efforts,'' said David Morse, a sales representative with Virginia Beach's Tri-Tronics Limited, which sold the system to Military Circle.

Over the last several years, the area's malls have made their security presence more visible. Others, like Military Circle, have partnered with local police departments for extra patrols.

But Military Circle will be first in South Hampton Roads to install this type of video security system. The cameras and monitors, which cost between $150,000 and $200,000, will be installed by late spring or early summer.

When finished, cameras will monitor the entire parking lot and a section inside the mall. The system will allow security staff, using monitors, to view what a specific camera sees and instantly print out full-color pictures of anything suspicious.

Officials at Hampton's Coliseum Mall, which added cameras outside and inside the shopping center in 1994, say their video system has helped stem crimes like shoplifting or thefts from automobiles.

But the cameras have had more far-reaching effects.

Security officers can follow packs of troublesome teens, tell them to leave and then trail them as they leave the mall's property, said Raymond Tripp, Coliseum's manager. They can keep an eye on shoppers who might need help, he said.

On Wednesday, Coliseum Mall's security staff spotted a vehicle in the parking lot that looked suspicious. But, using the cameras, they realized that the automobile's operator was having car problems.

``The customer was extremely excited that we knew what the problem was before we approached him,'' Tripp said.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu