ATLANTA - Major changes are coming to Lenox Square to improve security around the popular Atlanta mall.
The mall has joined the Connect Atlanta program, which allows anyone to register their security cameras with the Atlanta Police Department.
The new partnership will allow the APD to have full access to the mall's security cameras in case there is an emergency.
Lenox Square's General Manager Robin Suggs tells FOX 5 the change will add a significant boost to their security measures.
"The incidents that we were experiencing have been tremendously tamped down," she said. "We have a tremendous partnership with the Atlanta Police Department and extensive initiatives that will keep our shoppers safe."
The mall currently has over 240 security cameras linked with the Atlanta Police Department's system as well as license plate readers positioned at all vehicle entrances to the property.
Officials say the mall will also be monitored by at least 18 off-duty Atlanta police officers and more than a dozen private security officers.
"Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza are the two of the most surveilled environments in Atlanta and have 18 times more security personnel per square acre than the city of Atlanta, with security extending to off hours when the properties are closed, providing for around-the-clock coverage," Simon, the company that owns both properties, said in a news release.
Lenox Square garnered a lot of attention in recent years after a series of high-profile crimes around the area. In,2020 a shopper reported that she was attacked and then assaulted as she was leaving the mall. A month before that reported assault, three people were arrested after shots were fired inside Neiman Marcus.
In 2022, a shopper was held at gunpoint by two men while walking to his car after a trip to the mall.
Officials say with the addition of Lenox Square, the Atlanta Police Department now has more than 35,000 security cameras at its disposal.