A dramatic carjacking last

week at the Fayette Pavilion Wal-Mart gave rise to speculation about whether

crime is on the increase in local retail areas, and whether police are

being given the resources to keep up.

But while last week's incident

was dramatic, it's not very representative of the crimes typically committed

at the massive retail center, according to police.

Most of the crimes reported

at the Pavilion are far more tame, ranging from theft and shoplifting

to entering auto complaints, said Lt. Tom Kirkbride of the Fayetteville

Police Department.

Although the Pavilion is on

a patrol beat for Fayetteville officers, no one officer is assigned solely

to patrol there, Kirkbride said.

That's because the department

doesn't want to cut back on its commitment to serve all the citizens of

Fayetteville, Kirkbride said. Officers do check the Pavilion on a regular

basis, he added.

"With the number of officers

we have, we make good, educated decisions to allocate personnel based

on statistical data and crime trends," Kirkbride said.

For example, in December the

department focused on the Pavilion and caught several shoplifters in felony

cases before stores became aware of the offenses, Kirkbride said. The

department used uniformed and plainclothes officers in the operation,

a tactic that's used occasionally when a series of similar incidents recur

such as auto thefts, Kirkbride said.

Officials at the Fayette County

Sheriff's Department have noticed a drop-off in crime at the Pavilion

recently, said Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

Though most of the Pavilion

is in Fayetteville's jurisdiction, some stores there are in the county,

Jordan noted.

"There has been substantially

less going on there this summer as opposed to last summer," Jordan

said.

At its maximum staffing level,

the Police Department deploys between four and eight officers a shift

including patrol officer, K-9 officers, traffic officers and detectives,

Kirkbride noted.

"They can't be everywhere,"

Kirkbride said. "We will not be able to stop crime. We can only deter

crime and the criminal element from entering our community."

A Fayetteville officer happened

to be nearby as the recent carjacking incident unfolded. The officer pursued

the vehicle on the belief that the driver was intoxicated, Kirkbride said.

The officer had been checking storefronts in the area when he heard tires

squealing and headed in the direction of the sound, Kirkbride added.

The officer didn't discover

the vehicle was involved in a carjacking until after the suspect wrecked

the vehicle moments later.

When the Pavilion opened, the

department added three new police officers paid for by impact fees assessed

on the development, confirmed Fayetteville City Manager Joe Morton. Those

officers shouldn't be assigned solely to the Pavilion just because the

money for those positions came from that development, Kirkbride said.

Anytime Fayetteville grows,

crime is bound to increase, he added.

"It's not Wal-Mart's fault

or Home Depot's fault," Kirkbride said. "It's not anybody's

fault."

The Sheriff's Department has

a daytime and early-evening bike patrol covering the entire Pavilion this

summer, Jordan said. In the late evening and early morning hours, the

Pavilion is part of a "fairly large" patrol zone, he added.

"We have not had an entering

auto case on our side of the Pavilion since the bike patrol started,"

Jordan said. That area includes the newer stores such as Belk, Dekor and

Kohls, he said.

"We patrol the whole Pavilion

because we want to see the citizens get their share of county services,"

Jordan noted.

The best way to prevent crime

is for persons to remain vigilant about their surroundings and protect

their property, Kirkbride said. It's also important for citizens to report

crimes, he noted.

"You have to be aware

of your surroundings," Kirkbride said. "If not, there's a good

chance you will become a victim."

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