“There are dropkicks everywhere”.

That's what someone said to me when we were talking about this situation around Eastgate Mall.

This person I was talking to goes to Eastgate all the time and they were saying that they feel more  nervous going to Riccarton Mall.

And I agreed with them. Sometimes the atmosphere outside Riccarton Mall can be pretty threatening.

Which is why I think there is a strong argument for police to have a permanent presence not just around Eastgate - but all the big malls.  

Riccarton’s one of them where I think there is a definite need. That might be because, of all the malls, that would be the one I go to most often.

So why Eastgate is in the news today, is that the owner of five shops in the area around the mall has had a gutsful after having to call the police 70 times during the last three months.

He’s called them for all sorts of things - assaults, drug use, attempted break-ins, vandalism and loitering - but they haven’t always turned up. And that’s got local community leaders saying the police need to be stationed in the area permanently.

Which they used to be. But it seems they've been diverted to the foot patrols in the central city.

Which are great - and very noticeable.

Just the other day, I was in the centre of town and a couple of cops walked past me. I turned the corner and there were two more walking towards me.

So that’s brilliant. But it seems that it may have come at the expense of places like around Eastgate Mall - going by what this landlord is saying today and what the local community board leader and local city councillor are saying.

City councillor Yani Johanson and the head of the local community board, Paul McMahon, both reckon that the strife around Eastgate could have something to do with officers being reassigned to the CBD.

“We need the community policing team back”. That’s what McMahon is saying.

He’s saying: “There was a Phillipstown policing team, which included Eastgate, and the community constables were a regular presence.”

He goes on to say: “But the new government re-prioritised police to beat policing, and that means more police in the central city and fewer police for places like Eastgate.”

City councillor Yani Johanson is singing from the same song sheet. He says he goes to Eastgate often and he's aware and concerned about the anti-social behaviour going on there.

He says more needs to be done and having more of a police presence is something people would welcome.

I bet it would. But, like I say, if you’re going to have more cops at Eastgate - you need to do it elsewhere too.

Problem is, though, police resourcing.

As Inspector Glenda Barnaby puts it - she’s the metro area prevention manager - she's saying today that police can’t be everywhere, all the time.

Which is a fair point. She’s also saying today that what she calls “vigilant reporting” from the public is key to the police being able to respond and do something about bad behaviour.

But tell that to the guy in the news today who has called them 70 times in the last three months     

The thing is - whether we like it or not - malls have become central meeting points in communities.

Back in the day, people would congregate in places like your old town squares.

These days, people go to malls to congregate as much as anything. And wherever people congregate in large numbers - you're going to get all sorts, aren't you?

Which is why I agree with these two council guys who want a heavier police presence at Eastgate. But I’m saying don’t stop there and do the same around all the big malls in Christchurch.

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