How Mall Security and The Franklin Flex Team Fight Crime 

Cool Springs Galleria

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by Christine McDonald

While you’re shopping at The CoolSprings Galleria, you can feel safe, as you have not only the support of the Galleria Security Team but also the Franklin Police Department.

Over the Christmas season—from Black Friday to shortly before the New Year— the Franklin Police Department deployed their “Flex Team” to assist The CoolSprings Galleria mall security.

“Their efforts and participation act as a deterrent for rest of the year. The effects last because the word gets out,” said Director of Security Tom Froehlich.

The Flex Team is a team of seasoned officers assigned to work in the possible crime areas of Tennessee with the goal of reducing crime by the use of proactive patrols and team building through community relations. The term “flex” comes from the ideal of being flexible in every aspect of the job: hours of work, area of operation and nature of the work at hand on any given day from plain clothes to uniformed patrols. The Flex Team works hand in hand with detectives and narcotics as well as the patrol division in order to bridge the gap between reactive patrol and active crime prevention/detection.

“Most cases of shoplifting in Nashville the offender receives a citation and then the individual is released until their court date. However, here in Franklin the shoplifter is quickly apprehended and 60% or 70 % are taken to jail. In addition, the shoplifter’s car is towed immediately. They [the shoplifters] are not only now dealing with a bond to bail them out, but also the money they now have to spend to get their car out of the tow lot,” said Director Froehlich.

The CoolSprings Galleria has cameras both inside and outside to monitor crime.

“For trials, whenever police request, we go back in the archives and pull film footage from both inside and outside the mall. The entire mall is covered in cameras,” says Director Froehlich.

Having transferred from working at Opry Mills for five years, Director Froehlich wants the Franklin community to know that the people who work in the Galleria are the nicest and politest people. Even the teenagers say “yes ma’am” and “no sir”. “It’s amazing! Here the Franklin police nip it in the bud fast. I know veterans on the force for 20 years and they are still as enthusiastic as when they first came out of the police academy,” said Froehlich.

Lieutenant Charles Warner from the Franklin Police Department applauds the partnership they have formed with the Galleria Security Team.

“The Franklin Police Department has a shared radio frequency with [the Galleria] Mall Security. There is nowhere on that site that is not on camera; neither in that entire parking lot, nor inside the mall. [Those] security cameras are 24 hours a day,” said Lieutenant Warner.

There are undercover cops in street clothing inside the mall as well as outside the mall. “With our undercover officers, during the Flex Team season, criminals were caught and roughly $10,000 of merchandise was returned,” said Lieutenant Warner.

“We have this partnership with Franklin police all year long. In the case of something more serious, Brentwood PD is ready to respond and occasionally they get involved as well,” said Froehlich.

“We are proud of the work put into the security with the Franklin Police and The CoolSprings Galleria Mall Security,” said Marketing Director Dana Katterjohn.

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