Annual Robbery Prevention Mobilization to be Implemented by Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office in Lake Charles Beginning November 25

Lake Charles, Louisiana – The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office announced on November 22, 2022, that it will implement the Annual Robbery Prevention Mobilization (RPM) in an effort to deter crime and assist shoppers in the parking lot of the Prien Lake Mall in Lake Charles, during the holiday shopping season, which begins Friday, November 25 and runs through Monday, December 26, seven days a week from noon until one hour past mall closing.

Deputies will be on marked ATVs and patrol cars in the parking lot, as well as manning the CPSO Mobile Command Center, which will be situated in the mall’s parking lot near the intersection of Prien Lake Road and Ernest Street. During the evening hours, deputies will be wearing orange Sheriff’s Office traffic vests and will be available to help shoppers with things like finding their car, jumping starting their car if the battery is dead, changing a flat, assisting employees and shoppers by walking them to their car after dark, or any other assistance they can provide.

“The CPSO Robbery Prevention Mobilization has always been instrumental in, not only assisting shoppers with their problems and concerns, but keeping crime to a minimum at a time of year when it is usually on the rise,” says Sheriff Tony Mancuso. “We have been providing this service to the shoppers in our community over 15 years and we are very pleased to be able to continue to offer this to the public.”

Deputies from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office are working on this special detail to assist the public during the hectic holiday season. They were not employed by the mall, nor will they provide security for the mall. However, the presence of law enforcement on the premises is likely to dissuade criminality in the parking lot.

Deputies will also be aiding consumers and conducting checks in the Southgate Shopping Center on Ryan Street and the shopping areas on Derek Drive.