Police partner with security companies to keep local shopping centers safe
BAY COUNTY, Fla. Aug 30 2018 The shooting in Jacksonville happened at an open-air shopping center, similar to Pier Park.
To avoid similar incidents from happening locally, Pier Park has its own security company who teams up with the Panama City Beach Police Department to secure the area.
“We work extremely well with their staff with their security company. They have walking details, they have officers on two-wheel vehicles and officers on their four-wheel vehicles. We drive through there all the time. We have walking details on the busy Friday and Saturday nights, we have a substation over there, and we also have a designated parking spot for our law enforcement officers over there,” Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman said.
According to the Panama City Mall’s marketing director, Erin Wommack, the mall has a similar system.
It contracts with a security company and also has the help of Panama City Police officers during busier times.
“Here at Panama City Mall, we contracted company with ERMC and Secure America to ensure that our shoppers and our employees are safe here and on the weekends we also bring in the Panama City Police Department, to have during the day and the night just for that extra security purpose and to make sure our shoppers do feel safe,” Wommack said.
As an extra precautionary measure, officials say both Pier Park and the Panama City Mall have security offices on site.
“Our management office is upstairs and right below us is our security office, but they’re constantly lapping the mall, driving around the mall, walking the mall, all the time. We have security 24 hours a day,” said Wommack.
Both malls also up security during the holidays and large events.
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