Shopping Center

CHAPTER I

Introduction

A shopping center, is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area -- a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplace. It is a collection of independent retail stores, services, and a parking area, which is conceived, constructed, and maintained by a separate management firm as a unit. They may also contain restaurants, banks, theatres, professional offices, service stations etc. Shopping centers have become a familiar feature of urban development and these large and busy complexes present particular challenges for the prevention of crime.

Shoplifting is a crime and occurs when someone steals merchandise offered for sale in a retail store. To commit shoplifting one must "intend" to permanently deprive the merchant of the value of the merchandise. Shoplifting most often occurs by concealing merchandise in a purse, pocket, or bag, but can occur by a variety of methods. They create fear among shoppers for their safety and comfort, despair among managers for the center's image, tenants hear in them gloomy predictions about profits. For some of the shop assistants and security officers who work in the center they may seem accurate descriptions of a threatening environment, whilst among their colleagues are those who dismiss them as exaggerations. To what extent are these statements true? If they are, what steps can be taken to establish and maintain an atmosphere in which both shoppers and staff can conduct their business in peace without a sense of threat?

The purpose of the study is to find ways in intensifying the security inside big and small-scale shopping centers. The study will identify the role and characteristics of all of these anti-theft procedures, make recommendations regarding the security inside shopping centers and inform the readers, especially the consumers. The results of the study will provide insights on how designers should design/arrange the spaces inside the mall, which in turn will offer practical guidance for investors of malls and marketers.

Background of the Study

Shopping centers have existed in some form for more than 1,000 years as ancient market squares, bazaars and seaport commercial districts. Regardless of their sizes, all shopping malls are attraction centers for people to come together to socialize, see new developments, and do the shopping. Overall malls are critical retail venue that contributes to consumer experience and they are among the most frequently visited retailers. Shopping centers seem like tightly controlled and safe spaces for shopping, entertainment and dining. Yet they actually present great problems for those who are in charge of the safety and security of the retailers and customers. The study will provide effective schemes in space planning by carrying out a comprehensive procedures and analysis on how to lessen the possibility of shoplifting and robbery inside shopping centers.

I. RESEARCH PROBLEM

I.1 Rationale

Shopping malls have lots of features that make them attractive to criminals. There are plenty of nice things in the stores, and people walking around with money. There are usually places for groups of teenagers to hang out. There are also parking lots full of cars. Security and safety in malls depends on proper management of the crowd, its movement around the mall, its transportation to and away from the mall, and the way it spends its time in the mall.

It would be fairly easy to keep malls safe if there were a way to tell who is coming to the mall to make trouble, and to keep those people out. However, this is quite difficult. So security in malls depends on successful separation between shoppers or potential shoppers, and non-shoppers who are around for crime, shoplifting, pickpocket, or just hanging around. Certain design qualities of malls can encourage or discourage the non-shoppers, such as lighting, ceiling height, color scheme, presence of public transportation, parking facilities and many others.

The study seeks to clarify the effective planning of spaces and other security system of local shopping centers, and based on this, assesses whether each procedures merits some form of protection and what form of protection it gives.

I.2 Statement of the Problem

The researcher attempted to answer the following questions:

* What must consider in designing and constructing a shopping centers?

* What are the proper circulation/planning of the spaces?

* What must be the arrangement/orientation of stalls inside the shopping centers to avoid shoplifters, burglars and employee-theft?

* How does the physical design of the exterior/interior, lighting, parking facilities, etc. of shopping centers attract the people?

* What are the other supporting facilities desired in order to strengthen the security inside the premises?

* Where should security cameras be placed in order to track all the activity inside the shopping centers?

* How should the owner apply those anti- theft procedures without giving inconvenience to the consumers?

* What are the safety and security concerns of shopping center customers and how serious are they?

* How have the safety and security concerns of shopping center customers affect the design of the structure?

I.3 Goals and Objective

This study aims to:

* Implement anti-theft procedures in arranging spaces inside shopping malls.

* Explain and analyze the effectiveness of anti-theft procedures, based on their observed impact on project outcomes.

* Determine which procedure offers the best safety and security inside the shopping center.

* Use the research and analysis of the study's outcomes and results to further refine the design considerations of shopping centers.

* Determine how other anti-theft procedures are correlated with other procedures.

* Provide ideas to shop owners and designers on how to prevent shoplifting.

* Describe how it leads to adverse project outcomes.