Malls, Retailers Consider New Ways To Protect Shoppers
More sophisticated cameras. Security robots. Customers feeling shaken by recent attacks at U.S. malls may not notice huge changes — but mall operators are testing and putting in place new technologies and other measures to offer people more protection without intruding too much on their shopping time. Mall executives say shoppers have been adamantly opposed to airport security tactics like metal detectors. So they’re trying other things, and increasingly using mass notifications that let them send text and email alerts to tenants within seconds in case of a crisis. Concerns about safety have been heightened by the attacks. Those included a shooting in the makeup area of a Macy’s store near Seattle, where five people died, as well as stabbings at a Minnesota mall where ten people were injured before a police officer shot the assailant. Read more at The Denver Post.