Safety of Northriding and Olivedale shoppers of prime concern
The issue of large numbers of people hanging around the outside of shopping centres begging for goods, with the possibility of intimidating patrons, is happening at various shopping centres in the area.
Northriding and Olivedale residents have raised concern over the number of homeless people begging outside shopping centres during the lockdown period.
At the All Saints Shopping Centre in Olivedale, some customers have reported incidents of intimidation and crime, and a small number have taken to social media to raise their concerns. Come of these issues raised are very serious, including robbery and intimidation of the elderly, and people being robbed of their goods inside the centre, numerous times during the lockdown period.
Randburg Sun visited the centre management of the All Saints Shopping Centre on 6 May. They said that they had taken all precautions to ensure that their customers remained safe while doing their essential shopping.
“Only one serious incident of a person’s cell phone being taken from them and a vigilante reacting to it, was reported to us. An incident of crime like this is unfortunately not uncommon in any shopping centre. Regarding further serious incidents being reported by social media users, we have taken all possible steps to confirm these incidents and have established that they did not happen within the shopping complex,” said the centre’s management.
The centre’s landlord said that country is in a very dire and desperate situation at the moment, and a lot of customers, out of the goodness of their hearts, want to donate goods bought at shops within the centre, to those in need.
This, unfortunately, attracts many desperate people at one time, which many customers may find intimidating. “We, therefore, ask our customers not to distribute goods at the centre itself, but rather do it in places where there is a need for it. We have taken all necessary steps to make sure that our customers are safe.
“We have also been liaising with our ward councillor, Dalu Cele, to help resolve the issue,” he said.
Ward 101 councillor Dalu Cele said that he is very aware of the situation and has even gone to the extent of escalating the issue with the Douglasdale Police on 2 May.
“The issue of large numbers of people hanging around the outside of shopping centres begging for goods, with the possibility of intimidating patrons, is happening at various shopping centres in the area. Numerous residents have been in touch with me on various platforms to voice their concerns,” said Cele.
On 4 May, Cele followed-up on the situation with the police. “The issue is escalating, and I will be in contact with the police to find a permanent solution for this matter. I am also trying to engage with shopping centre owners to find a way to resolve this issue by working together with the police.”The Douglasdale Police were unable to comment to the Randburg Sun on the situation.
