TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Temple police have increased presence in Temple Towne Center's parking lot adding cameras and license plate readers.
Since January, this area has seen 17 incidents. Some high-crime stores have added extra security, watching out for neighbors in and out of their stores.
Shoe Carnival says although the parking lot is packed their sales are not what it is used to since the robberies started.
Police advise our neighbors to trust their instincts, be observant, show confidence, and be aware of transitions such as walking to your car, loading it, or sitting in your car.
The crime rate in Temple has decreased in areas like robbery and aggravated assault, but it has increased in simple assault and auto theft. Through April 2024, robbery is down 25% and aggravated assault is down 15%. It is important to remember that in 2021, Temple saw the lowest number of reported crimes in all major categories, which is a trend that continued into 2022 for property crimes.
