MESA, AZ - Mesa city officials addressed last night an ordinance that proponents say would reduce crime at convenience stores, East Valley Tribune reports.

The proposed ordinance would require convenience stores to install surveillance cameras, alarm systems, and drop safes, which collectively would cost each store about $11,000.

Of Mesa??s 150 convenience stores, 10 generated nearly 50-percent of the city??s 8,840 police calls, which account for 2.8 percent of all police calls in Mesa.

Mesa city attorneys are revising the ordinance and it is scheduled to be addressed in May at the Mesa City Council??s Public Safety Committee meeting. It is expected to receive a recommendation for forwarding the ordinance to the full council for approval, according to Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh.

"The calls for service to convenience stores occupy a lot of time and cost the city a lot of money," Kavanaugh said. "There??s much more they can do to lessen the chance for a crime and help police catch the person who did it. It would save money and make workers safer. The goal of the ordinance is to lessen the chance for a crime."

"They should just get the hell out of our business and stay the hell out," said Shamoon Yousif, owner of the Fairway Market, in west Mesa. "We own the business. Nobody should tell us how to run it on the inside..."[F]or some stores, this will cost a lot of money. Some people can??t afford it. You??ll see some stores close down."

Michelle Ahlmer, executive director of the Arizona Retailers Association, said that the city should review other measures before requiring storeowners to spend money or risk closure.

"When these laws go to more costly proposals is when we get concerned," Ahlmer said. "If store owners are being ripped off, they would likely have a high interest in protecting their store. Thieves are getting more aggressive and creative. There are other steps that a store can take to reduce crime incidents such as rearranging the merchandise, but sometimes a manufacturer dictates where you place their product in the store to better sell it and a store can??t make those changes."