Randburg police embarked on a crime awareness campaign on 8 December at Appletons Village Shopping Centre in Ferndale.
The police handed out crime prevention brochures to residents and shoppers at the centre.
Sector 3 manager Constable Gerry Maluleke explained that common robberies were dominant during the festive season and residents should be more aware.
“This is our last crime awareness campaign this year. We need to make sure that residents are aware about crime incidents and how to prevent them,” he said.
He warned that residents should arrange with their security companies when they go away for holidays as it would allow those companies to monitor their houses.
“Residents should avoid walking while talking on their phones or carrying money with them,” he advised.
He concluded that they had experienced many crime incidents recently as criminals were in need of money for December.
Shopping centre caretaker Nkwane Bhala said various crime incidents occurred in the past two months, including two armed robberies.
See previous story: Armed men robbed customers at Appleton Shopping Centre
“Over the past two months few incidents of car jamming occurred here and there were thieves who were scamming bank cards,” he said.
Bhala further explained that they have been liaising with the police in an attempt to keep the centre secured and free from crime incidents.
“We have been advising our customers to double check if their cars were jammed whenever they come to the shopping centre,” he explained.
He indicated that they have deployed security guards to monitor the movement of people especially at the bank ATMs. “They are always on the lookout for suspicious people,” he concluded.
Details: Randburg Police Station, 011 449 9000.
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