The holiday shopping season is bringing an increased security presence to the Mall of America this year.
That presence includes more Bloomington police officers, random bag checks, increased mall security, and the addition of a firearm-detection K9 unit. The added security is all part of the mall’s multilayer security plan that includes both visible and non-visible elements.
“If you start outside, we have a highly visible bike patrol that patrols all the parking lots and ramps. They’re out there looking for people that are looking to break into cars or steal cars,” said Will Bernhjelm, the Mall of America’s Vice President of Security. “They also help people find their cars. We get about 1,200 calls a year from people who can’t find the car.”
Bernhjelm says the mall continues to build its security team, which he believes is an industry leader. The security includes uniformed and plain-cloth security officers, Bloomington police officers, canine units, license plate readers, and a full-time intelligence analyst.
“Having a full-time intelligence analyst is incredibly unique for a retail property like ours,” Bernhjelm said. “I was at a conference recently and they kind of called me out because they wanted me to talk about the program. I mentioned the intelligence analyst, and no one else from some of the major property owners across the United States had one. Our analyst is out there proactively looking for things.”
Safety and security at the mall came into questions last year after three separate gun incidents at the mall last year, including a shooting death in one of the mall’s stores.
“We had gone 29 years with that level on incidents here, and all of a sudden last year we had three,” added Bernhjelm. “We understood things weren’t the same anymore. We had a robust program before all of that. We’re always trying to evaluate and stay industry leading, but it really forced to dig in and see what else we need to be doing here.”
There were calls to add metal detectors to mall entrances.
The mall evaluated two different metal detection systems.
“We found that metal detectors aren’t the right fit for our building,” Bernhjelm said. “I completely understand why it works in certain venues, but for our venue it’s incredibly difficult. For us, we have 27 public entrances and we’re open for 363 days of the year. We would run metal detectors for 16 hours a day. It’s incredibly difficult.”
Earlier this month, the Mall of America announced it would roll out its gun-detection dog unit during the holiday shopping season. The program will most likely carry into 2024 and beyond. Earlier this spring, Mall of America security officers began wearing body cameras.
“That’s been incredible. I’m very happy with the success of that program. It’s certainly provide us a different perspective of the officer on the ground. It’s allowed us to enhance those investigations and apprehend people who’ve been involved in incidents out here.”
When it comes to staffing, Bernhjelm says the security team is in a good spot, but they’re always looking to add top talent.
“Times have change significantly for us hiring wise, but it’s constant work to go out and find people who are going to be a good fit, have the right attitude, and demeanor,” he said. “ I don’t necessarily care about experience level. We have an incredible training program here. We can get them trained and ready to go. I care about the right person and the right personality.”
