Yellowknife (June 18/03) - The Centre Square Mall is undergoing trials with a new security system.

Jennifer Marchant, mall manager, said the Centre Square Mall is forming a partnership with the Yellowknife Inn to generate new forms of security management.

Centre Square Mall manager Jennifer Marchant demonstrates the mall's key card access system. - Cheryl Robinson/NNSL photo

Their old security officer only worked what Marchant calls "school patrol," between noon and 1 p.m. or 3 and 4 p.m. Several complaints were made by mall merchants and parkade users about this minimal security service.

"His job was only to keep people moving in the mall and identify troubled spots," said Marchant.

Security reviews stemmed from a mall merchant meeting held by Ken Lucianovich, vice president of Humford management, who ultimately manages Centre Square Mall.

"We've heard their concerns and we're going to do our best to address them," Marchant said.

She is expecting a one-month trial period of full-time security service to start this week.

"There's no use implementing a program and finding it doesn't work," said Marchant.

The trial service will provide at least one full-time security guard for the entire mall. The guard will keep tabs on both the Centre Square and YK Inn areas of the mall and also keep an eye on the parkade -- something the last security guard was not required to do.

In a recent Yellowknifer article, parkade user Holly Sansom complained about open access to the parkade after her car window was broken by vandals. Sansom suggested the mall replace the automatic opening doors to the upper parkade with a key card access to keep troublemakers out.

Changing access to the parkade is something Marchant said she's planning on doing in the future, after the city finishes with it's downtown enhancement program. She said the current parking meters in the upper parkade will then be removed, allowing the mall to restrict users.

"The security will be much like the lower parkade access," said Marchant.

The lower parkade doors are currently opened through a key card system.

Marchant said while she sympathized with Sansom, she doesn't think parking in the mall parkade is any more dangerous than parking on the street.

"If anything, I'd say it's safer," Marchant said.

Marchant also pointed out that several areas in the mall already require key card access.

"You have to be able to get out of the doors leading to the parkade for safety reasons," said Marchant. "But on several doors you need a key card to get back in."

Marchant also showed the key card security changes that have been made to "troubled" areas, such as the hallway leading to the street from the former Broadway restaurant exit.

Anyone entering that hallway cannot get back into the mall without a key card and will be monitored on camera.