Yorkdale boosts mall security with $3.4M upgrade

Watch the video above: The reason why Yorkdale is investing millions of dollars in their security. Carey Marsden reports. 

TORONTO – Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre is beefing up its security with a $3.4 million dollar investment to its surveillance system.

“Shopper safety is our number one priority and this security installation will make Yorkdale a very undesirable place for criminal activity,” said Anthony Casalanguida, Oxford Properties’ Director of Retail, in a media release.

Mall officials say the upgrades will make the shopping centre “one of the most advanced security surveillance systems in Canada.”

The decision to invest in extra security measures come after a man was seriously injured when two dozen bullets ripped through the window of Yorkdale’s Joey restaurant last May.

Two months earlier, 23-year-old Michael Nguyen was shot and killed in the mall’s parking lot. Another man was also injured.

In 2009, a security guard was shot during an armed robbery.

The boost in security comes in a year when Yorkdale is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a $331 million expansion plan.

The new system includes enhanced camera resolution and capabilities that allows security personnel to “zoom in on incidents and the individuals to capture images in remarkable detail.”

This is in addition to the licence plate recognition devices already installed at every parking lot entry point.

The mall says the new surveillance system will allow security staff to monitor live feeds 24/7 from all cameras in most public spaces.

“Yorkdale is raising the bar in private security and the kind of detail its security team can now deliver will be a real deterrent to criminal activity and, when needed, will be an asset to police investigations,” said Superintendent Selwyn Fernandes of Toronto Police Services’ 32 Division.