More police and security officers will patrol the Providence Place mall, in reaction to stabbings Monday and a recent arrest of a teenager who was allegedly shaking down young shoppers for their money. New Police Chief Richard T. Sullivan met with mall officials at the substation at Providence Place yesterday morning, his first meeting on his first full day as police chief. He said he would shift some patrol officers to the mall, and that the mall would meet the department halfway by paying for some of the officers. Meanwhile, the mall will also hire more security guards, Doyle said.
Visibility is important everywhere.
Along with uniformed officers, the department's gang intervention officers will continue walking through the mall, observing and talking to youths, said Commissioner of Public Safety John J. Partington. However, Sullivan, Partington, and mall officials emphasized that an apparent gang fight Monday was an isolated incident. Just before the mall closed Monday night, six teenage males fought and stabbed each other on the third floor in front of horrified shoppers. It was the most serious crime that's occured at the mall since it opened in August 1999, according to the police. There have been incidents of shoplifting, minor assaults, and recently, teenagers bullying younger youths for cash.