MESQUITE (WBAP/KLIF)- The City of Mesquite is considering an ordinance to put a temporary stoppage to opening any new convenience stores in Mesquite to make the city safer. Wayne Larson with the city says convenience stores have been popular targets for crime. According to the city, in 2018 of 219 total robberies in Mesquite 56 of them occurred at convenience stores and in 2019, of 247 total robberies 47 occurred at convenience stores. “This data reflects a consistent occurrence of robberies at convenience stores compared to other retail users,” the ordinance states.
Larson said the goal of the stoppage is to work with business owners on what can be done to get those crime numbers down and make the city safer for everyone. “Most of the criminal activity we see at convenience stores in the city happen late at night or early morning,” Larson said. “We can work on new strategies with business owners like better viability of the stores from the street, enhanced lighting or use of surveillance cameras to help police better locate a suspect,” he said.
Larson said the city defines convenience stores as any retail establishment offering for sale prepackage food products, household items, and other goods and is a walk-in store no less than 1,000 square feet and no more than 5,000 square feet.
A public hearing is set for January 28th at Mesquite City Hall at 6 pm and another is set for February 3rd ahead of The City Council’s vote on the ordinance.
If the Council votes in favor of the ordinance, it will go into affect February 3rd.
