INDIANAPOLIS — Walking into Castleton Square Mall, you would have no idea that behind some locked doors is a robust Operational Intelligence Center that monitors retail properties across the country.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group gave 13News a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how it keeps shoppers safe every day across its more than 200 locations.
The restricted room sits tucked away in a quiet corner of the Indianapolis mall and can only be accessed with fingerprint technology.
Inside the center are more than 90 specialists that monitor thousands of video feeds coast to coast.
“When the consumer comes to the mall, they are going to see a uniformed security guard. They are also going to see uniformed police officers. In some cases, they are going to see uniformed and armed K-9 officers. They may see camera towers or elevated guard towers in the parking lot, but what they won’t see is the Simon Operational Intelligence Center,” said Russ Tuttle, the senior vice president and chief security officer for the Simon Property Group.
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The OIC specialists aren’t just focused on what they see in the video feeds, but they also use data to predict what could happen and where.
“That allows us to have a good idea when criminal activity could be afoot and how to deploy our resources accordingly,” Tuttle said.
When an incident happens, the security team is in direct communication with local police and retailers in real time.
“They dispatch the officers, contact the police, take phone calls from our customers and tenants, and are able to direct our personal where they need to go,” Tuttle said.
In the last year, Simon Property Group has seen shootings at its central Indiana malls.
Last summer, a gunman opened fire inside Greenwood Park Mall and killed three people. At Castleton Square Mall, a 16-year-old was killed and his friend was shot earlier this year after a car mix-up in the parking lot.
“It’s not a mall issue, it’s a societal issue and we are doing everything we can with the resources we have to protect our property, our people and our retailers,” said John Rulli, chief administrative officer for Simon Property Group.
The company’s investment in security goes beyond technology. Simon also uses security guards, K-9s and police officers to secure every inch of their malls.
“We have people watching and communicating directly with the police department to prevent these things from happening,” Rulli said.
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It’s a level of expertise and technology the company says exceeds its competition.
“The level of sophistication with the OIC, the smart technology of the camera systems and the predictive analysis of where things may happen at certain times is happening nowhere else,” Rulli said.
Tuttle started building the program from the ground up more than a decade ago. Since then, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested.
“It will continue to evolve with emerging technology every day,” Tuttle said.
This year, Simon Property Group is adding security upgrades to Castleton Square Mall.
Currently, they are installing license plate readers around the property that can alert police of stolen vehicles or active warrants.
They are also looking at adding live-view towers in the parking lots that have 360 cameras that will be looking inward into the parking lot areas with in-and-out audio capability.
“We think is going to harden our target here and continue to provide the highest level of security possible,” Tuttle said.
The company hopes this cutting-edge, sophisticated technology sends a clear message to those causing trouble, saying if you come to a Simon property, you will get caught.