During the festive season malls and shopping centres will be overflowing with people doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. This will also be a time to be extra aware of your surroundings as criminals may see this as an opportunity.
Warrant Officer Hitler Ngwenya, spokesperson of the Muldersdrift Police station advised businesses to keep the amount of cash on hand to a minimum. “Ensure that banking is done regularly and don’t allow large amounts of cash to be kept on the premises,” said Ngwenya. He advised shoppers not to carry large amounts of money in their possession and to be vigilant when making withdrawals at ATMs.
Not only the SAPS, but the malls have also begun establishing precautions to ensure the safety of their shoppers during the festive season. According to the general manager of Clearwater Mall in Struben’s Valley, Vicky Denyschen, they have increased the security compliment for the festive season and work closely with the Honeydew Police to increase the presence of the SAPS at the centre during the festive season. “Prior to the festive season we upgraded and installed additional cameras throughout the mall to ensure that all areas are covered.”
She added that the staff of the mall with all the high-risk tenants had a meeting prior to the festive season on how to identify suspicious individuals, criminal modus operandi and how to reduce risk of armed robberies. “We have guards at all exit booms who carry spikes and if a vehicle tailgates they are spiked to try to curtail car thefts. We have spotters placed at both entry points into the mall who report any suspicious vehicles or individuals coming into the mall.”
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Details: Clearwater Mall, 011 288 5260.
