One part of Albemarle County is seeing a spike in crime, according to NBC29's Spot Crime Tracker. Police confirm they are tackling an increase of thefts around the 15000 and 16000 blocks of East Rio Road, which happens to be in the heart of Fashion Square Mall.
Police say they started to notice the increase around June of this year, and say a lot of the crimes are being committed by young people.
Sgt. Darrell Byers says the increase in thefts on East Rio Road has a lot to do with an unfortunate summer trend. Kids are out of school and many are getting into mischief.
"So what we've seen is an increase in larcenies that are occurring around the mall," Byers said. "The months that we're looking at are June and July, so that's synonymous with school being out, so we've got an increase of foot traffic at the mall."
Byers says the types of crimes run the gamut, mostly from store shoplifts to crimes stemming from car thefts. Most of the young people responsible are apprehended a short time later, but Byers says the police are always looking for ways to contain the situation.
"One of the things we try to always do is we try to work with the community to see what the problems are and see what we can do to try to solve the problems, so that's one of the things we will continue to do," he said.
One way you can be proactive about your safety is to go to NBC29's Crime Tracker, type in an address, and the map will show you some of the crimes that have happened in your area.
Byers said, "The other thing is we would like to remind people as it relates to outside of the mall to make sure that they lock their cars, don't leave any items in your car, visible, that are easily taken."
Byers says the department has always had a good working relationship with Fashion Square Mall, and it will continue to work with them during this process.
