Additional police officers have been deployed in the Palmdale area to protect shoppers during the Christmas season, according to Superintendent Theophilus Cunningham. Cunningham, the commanding officer of the Northeastern Division, told The Nassau Guardian: "Our patrols have already been heightened and the police officers have been going in and talking to the employees and proprietors alike." Cunningham and a group of officers visited business owners in his district last Thursday to hear their concerns and give them their personal contact numbers.

Business owners were happy to see the police officers and urged them to continue their heightened visibility. Just hours before the walkabout, officers arrested a chain snatching suspect, Cunningham said. The victim was leaving Interior Exterior on Mount Royal and Madeira Street when the incident happened. Cunningham visited the establishment after the incident to reassure the staff that officers would remain in the area. Marvin Pinder, proprietor of Home Fabrics, said he wanted more patrols in the area.

Elizabeth Knowles, of the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts, stopped the officers as they left McCartney's Pharmacy to tell them her concerns. She said the center has been the victim of perpetual break-ins. Knowles said, "It's non-stop. If it continues, we may have to close. We watched a guy, just last week, as he stood up on the condenser outside and switched our camera. We were so terrified. We didn't know what to do." Cunningham promised Knowles that a team would visit the Dundas Centre, saying there would be continued "high visibility".

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