By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



Shoppers in Fultondale had a safe holiday experience in 2009, according to local leaders.

This week, Mayor Jim Lowery said the Promenade shopping center saw very few incidents between Thanksgiving and the end of the Christmas season. He said only two shopliftings were reported during that time.

“We really think it’s because of all the [preventative] things we’ve done down there,” he said. “It’s really a combination of some things we put in place and the diligence of our police department.”

One of the measures included the ongoing use of a police command center near Target that allowed police officers and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members a means to assist shoppers.

Last month, the city council also approved a measure to hire an on-call judge that would try criminal cases at the center within minutes of an arrest.

Lowery said next year, the on-call judge measure would be approved ahead of Black Friday. However, the judge may also be brought back in August as part of the state and city’s sales tax holiday.