Problems extend beyond the mall, DA says

Security measures will be increased in Monroeville

Improving security in Monroeville will require an effort spanning well beyond the mall, community leaders said Thursday after a meeting about safety issues in and around Monroeville Mall, which has experienced several acts of violence recently.

Those security measures will include — but not be limited to — increased installation of security cameras and video surveillance. There will be efforts that “you will hear about, and see, and some you will not see,” said Sean Logan, chief executive officer of Visit Monroeville, at a news conference following the closed-door community meeting.

Though there are some security cameras in Monroeville, it’s a far cry from a place such as the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead, said Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.

At that complex, there are enough video cameras to create a “virtual checkpoint” where law enforcement can track vehicles by license plate, he said. The district attorney’s office is “actively looking for grants for that type of technology” in Monroeville.

Mr. Zappala pointed to evidence showing increased drug trafficking in Monroeville, including dozens of heroin arrests at the mall during the past two years. The drug trade also extends to housing developments and parking lots in the Miracle Mile shopping center, he said. Legislation regulating absentee landlords could also help cut down on drug traffic, he said.

He did not attribute the

recent mall incidents directly to drug activity but said that drugs bring “a nexus of violence” that puts residents more at risk.

Last Friday night, more than 500 college-age partiers showed up for an event that got out of hand at the Winghart’s Whiskey and Burger Bar located near Macy’s at Monroeville Mall. Gunshots were fired in the parking lot outside the party and although no one was wounded, at least one man was hospitalized from injuries in the crowd.

A Feb. 7 shooting inside the mall injured three people, including two bystanders shopping at Macy’s. In late December, multiple fights among young adults forced the mall to close early one Friday night.

In response, the mall instituted a policy requiring that those under 18 be accompanied by an adult on weekend nights and reopened a police substation inside the mall.

Mall management and youth enforcement personnel are pleased with the new policy even though it has decreased foot traffic, Mr. Logan said.