Tacoma Mall security watching over parking lot from tower

An emphasis patrol outside the Tacoma Mall will continue through the New Year as shoppers look for bargains and return gifts.

But security guards are not just patrolling the parking lots in the traditional way. Instead, mall security have set up a portable tower in the lot to watch from above.

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The idea is for it to act as a deterrent to thieves such as car prowlers, purse snatchers or worse.

“If you’re carrying a bunch of packages and you’re walking by yourself chances are good someone is going to come up, grab them and run,” Tacoma Police Department Officer Loretta Cool told KIRO 7’s Joanna Small.

Tacoma Police said there can be as many as 20,000 vehicles in the mall parking lot at any given time any you can only see so much from the ground — so the tower helps get a bird’s eye view of what’s going on.

“This is the first time I’ve seen one and I thought it was a very good idea,” shopper James Goforth said.