Shopping centres talk security

In an attempt to share experiences and solutions, the Gauteng chapter of the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) held a significant workshop to discuss the issue of security and safety in local shopping centres on 2 June.

The workshop was held at the Balalaika Hotel in Sandton with various heads of shopping centres and property companies present. The first presentation was led by a member of the chapter’s regional committee, Harry Harris who spoke about the employers’ responsibility to their employees to keep a safe and hazard-free work environment.

Harris said that the causes of many accidents in many workplaces are distractions which still hold consequences for the employers. He urged those in attendance to place emphasis on maintenance of safety systems and take steps to eliminate or mitigate any hazards in their centres.

Kevin Roman, chief operating officer of Pareto Limited who hosted a property portfolio which includes Sandton City, Menlyn Park and Cresta, said, “Crime in and around shopping centres has been escalating nationally since 2006, which prompted the formulation of the National Shopping Centre Security Initiative.”

He added that the initiative’s primary focus in terms of crime touches specifically on business robberies, cash-in-transit crimes and ATM crime. In his address, which touched on the owner’s perspectives of security, he said, “We collectively have to take responsibility not to ‘go with the flow’, but to take action.”

Some of the crime trends he reported on in his presentations included that cash-in-transit robberies take place mainly on Mondays and Saturdays anytime between 8am and 5pm. Burglaries occur anytime in the week, but specifically between 1am and 4am, while similarly, ATM crimes primarily take place in the early hours of the morning.

He also gave recommendations focused on the enhancement of shopping centre CCTV systems such as the installation of higher definition equipment, which must be maintained regularly and have limited access. This in order to work with the police in the event of a crime in centres.

Read more:

Sandton City on high alert following terror threat

Scooters give Sandton City the slip

Another structural collapse at Sandton City