New video created to promote safe and secure shopping environment at Santa Maria Town Center mall

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A new public service announcement video has been created by multiple partners to help assure there is a safe and secure environment for visitors to the Santa Maria Town Center mall.

The video was made in response to a reported decrease in the number of shoppers at the indoor shopping center and was a collaborative effort by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber, City of Santa Maria, and Town Center management.

"We want to make sure that everybody in the community understands that Santa Maria Town Center is a great place to come and do your Christmas shopping after work," said Michael Boyer, Santa Maria Valley Chamber President and CEO. "It's a very safe environment. We've seen foot traffic in the mall down this year and it coincides with the evenings. We want to make sure that people are aware and realize that it's safe to come to the the Town Center mall in the evenings."

The 50-second video will be broadcast on various social media accounts of the collaborative partners, as well as local media outlets.

It includes several messages to the public, including a line that says, "You can feel confident that the Santa Maria Town Center has taken extra precautions to create a welcoming and secure environment."

Boyer stressed there are several layers of security within the mall property both inside and outside, including the city-owned parking structures.

"We have on-site security here at the Town Center Mall," said Boyer "We've partnered with the police (Santa Maria Police Department) and the rangers (Santa Maria City Rangers) doing their normal patrols to make sure that people feel and understand that it is in a safe environment."

The timing of the video comes during the Christmas shopping season, which is the most important time of year for retailers.

"Christmas season, I'd say from Thanksgiving until January, the mall needs that people walking and shopping, spending their money here in our shops," said Suzanne Singh, Santa Maria Valley Chamber Economic and Community Development Director. "They're making their bulk sales, usually from November till January, so this is a really important time for these shops to have people coming in economically. It just makes the mall sustain itself throughout the year."

To view the video, click here or head to the Santa Maria Valley Chamber's YouTube page.