Vehicle for Change

You can’t rollerskate in a buffalo herd, as singer-songwriter Roger Miller once told us, but you can Segway through a crowded shopping mall. And many security personnel are doing just that, complementing foot patrols by using the personal transporters to stand above the crowd and, when necessary, move ahead of it.

The Segway is used by more than 560 law enforcement and security agencies worldwide, according to Bedford, N.H.-based Segway Inc. The Chicago Police Department was an early adopter two years ago, and Miami-Dade police used the machine during Super Bowl XLI activities last year.

The Segway gets officers out of patrol cars, making it useful for departments employing “community policing” methods (The New York Police Department used them to patrol parks and beaches last summer. Macerich, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based shopping center owner/operator, has been rolling out Segways in malls across the country.

“We are the last large mall-management company to still have its own security staff” and recently merged that staff with its customer-relations staff, says Bill Harrell, assistant vice president for security and guest services at Macerich’s Westcor division in Phoenix. He says security guards also now serve as “ambassadors of goodwill and information.”

These ambassadors utilize various modes of transportation, from standard foot patrol to bicycles, automobiles, golf carts and Segways. What the Segways offer that other vehicles don’t, Harrell says, is “approachability. People like to talk to the people in Segways.”

Stairs pose a challenge to Segway operators in multi-level centers, but otherwise “there are very few limits” and “no downside” to using the rechargeable personal transporters, Harrell says.

“The device itself wins you over because of its tremendous amount of versatility for patrolling and staffing,” he says. “We are service-oriented, so guests can approach an officer [and] engage in conversations or ask questions.”

Segways cost about $5,000 apiece and get approximately 26 miles to a charge, according to director of commercial sales Brenda Mahoney. They elevate the operator eight inches above the ground and can travel at two to three times normal walking speed, enabling patrol rounds to be completed in less time.

Unlike gasoline or other petroleum product-burning vehicles, battery-powered Segways operate cleanly indoors and, other than battery-charging, no regular maintenance is required. The units are self-balancing, even at rest, and occupy a footprint not much wider across than a person. Outdoors, the device operates in the rain and the batteries are functional down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. The lack of an internal combustion engine means no emissions during operation, and cost of daily recharging amounts to about 25 cents a day.

Learning curve
Ease of operations is a major selling point of the personal transporter, but that doesn’t mean there is no learning curve, says Jade Hirt, national manager of staff development for Bannockburn, Ill.-based IPC, a security services provider that supplies personnel to more than 400 shopping centers. He says instruction, which typically lasts eight to 12 hours, begins with classroom sessions in which prospective operators learn the “ins and outs” of the unit and its operation. The trainees also learn how to inspect the unit prior to use and identify safety concerns.

The second phase of training involves a number of drills designed to thoroughly familiarize the operator with how the Segway handles: figure-eight drills, negotiating a pylon slalom course, and making turns, particularly Y-turns, since the machine doesn’t operate in reverse. “These are aimed at helping the operator maintain balance, judging distances, stopping times and stopping distances,” Hirt says.

In translating uses for the unit from a law enforcement context to a shopping center security environment, “visibility is a big part of having people feel safe and comfortable in a shopping mall,” Mahoney says. “From the property’s standpoint, you want to create an environment in which security is visible and approachable.”

Another selling point for the device is that “it takes the stigma away from responding in an emergency,” Mahoney says. “When people see a cop or guard running, it raises their fear level because they know it’s a response to an emergency [whereas] someone on a vehicle at controlled speed might just be making rounds.”