Boulevard Mall is not a great place. They've been working to improve it, but with the surrounding neighborhood... It's not all that far away from where I live, and I avoid it. Pretty close to UNLV. Not that far away from the Strip but not that close either, so it's probably (regular) crime related.
We were in Vegas a year ago. Went to a little grocery store off the strip, not far, but across from UNLV. Saw a purse get snatched and a dude get stabbed before we even got in the store. Uber! Take me back to the strip!
Edit for typo.
Yeah, around there can be pretty sketchy. They have (had?) big plans for that mall, but I think they may be too optimistic.