Mayfair myth?

In 2006, police made 731 arrests at Mayfair Mall, only 11% more than Mayfair's five-year average - and about half the number arrested last year at Southridge Mall, a mall in Greendale that had about 30% fewer visitors in 2006. Recent scuffles and disturbances at Mayfair covered by the Journal Sentinel and WauwatosaNOW.com have prompted District Attorney John Chisholm and mall leadership to propose tighter restrictions and tougher consequences for Mayfair’s clientele.

Chisholm promised to target repeat offenders and review arrests made at Mayfair for criminal prosecution, a step beyond the traditional municipal ticket. Mayfair management is working on a plan that requires adults to accompany minors at the mall. Wauwatosa police will cooperate with any plan, but according to Capt. Jeff Sutter, "As police, we are not going to be involved in checking IDs."

A review of Greendale and Wauwatosa police records from 2002-2006 indicates:

After quiet years in 2004 and 2005, Mayfair arrests returned in 2006 to levels seen in 2002 and 2003.

On average, police made twice as many arrests each year at Southridge, which also has fewer visitors.

At both Mayfair and Southridge, 65% of offenders were adults (17 or older).

At Mayfair, 80% of offenders were black.

Over half of Mayfair arrests resulted from theft.

How safe are Mayfair & Southridge?

Compared to the rates of small cities, Mayfair has low violent, property and drug/weapon crime rates. Southridge has low violent and drug/weapon crime rates but a higher property crime rate. City/Mall comparisons

Seeds of controversy

Recent unusual and highly publicized offenses have ressurrected concerns about mall safety that had lain dormant since 2003, when similar disturbances created a minor public uproar. In early February, the mall announced its plans to enforce PGR (Parental Guidance Required) in the Spring. Wauwatosa Mayor Theresa Estness and Police Chief Barry Weber support the plan, which may be limited to evening hours.

Meanwhile, Chisholm was making Mayfair into the key example behind his reorganization of the District Attorney's office. He plans to assign prosecutors to geographic regions, where they will work with local law enforcement to increase safety in public spaces. Part of this effort will mean more criminal prosecutions of Mayfair offenders.

As February progressed, a struggle with a Wauwatosa cop sent a handgun flying. A fight outside the AMC movie theater injured an officer. A deviant was caught photographing a woman in the bathroom. And a man kicked and pounded a bewildered mom’s minivan after she beat him to a parking spot. The seeds were sown.

Crime has held steady at both malls in the past five years.

More on Southridge

The big picture

Crime at Southridge cooled off in 2006 whereas crime at Mayfair grew slightly. As Mayfair hit a low in 2005, Southridge peaked and headed down, suggesting that crime at the malls may be linked. At both malls, theft and disorderly conduct arrests have followed similar trends since 2002.

Statistics show that adult offenders outnumber juveniles 2:1 at the malls, yet Mayfair management is only targeting teenagers. The recent upsurge in disorderly conduct was created by both age groups. In 2006, police arrested 73 men, 29 women, 35 boys and 13 girls for disorderly conduct.

Disorderly-conduct tickets are issued for a wide range of disturbances, including shouting, profanity, public urination and dumping soda on kiosk employees. Situations often deteriorate as unruly customers refuse orders from security guards.

Theft, which leads to about as many arrests as all other mall crimes combined, is mostly committed by women and girls. Between 2002 and 2006, 72% of thieves arrested were females and 30% were girls younger than 17. Other financial crimes, such as counterfeiting and fraud, were also dominated by women.

Click below for detailed breakdowns by age, gender and race for all arrest categories at Mayfair.

		Southridge			Mayfair

2002 - 2006	Adults	Juveniles	Total	Adults	Juveniles	Total
OVERALL	4,219	2,241	6,460	2,135	1,158	3,293
Homicide	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sexual Assault	2	0	2	1	0	1
Robbery	13	1	14	10	6	16
Theft	2,473	1,542	4,015	1,101	741	1,842
Disorderly Conduct	600	242	842	288	138	426
Stolen Property	371	250	621	75	56	131
Narcotics	126	33	159	40	21	61
Vandalism	78	50	128	27	16	43
Liquor Law	73	20	93	15	8	23
Forgery	82	3	85	57	3	60
Weapons	46	12	58	11	5	16
Assault	34	12	46	36	15	51
Auto Theft	11	2	13	7	12	19