Police also subject to chain store searches
Police, who are subject to compulsory searches at Woolies stores in the province, are reported to have been complaining
KZN top cop and Acting Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has ordered his members to adhere to the stringent security measures recently implemented at Woolworth’s stores across the province.
In a statement‚ issued yesterday‚ Mkhwanazi said he supported such measures and noted that police officers who visit these stores as customers should be subject to the same procedures reserved for all customers, whether they are in uniform or not.
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His sentiments are believed to have been in response to reports that police officers had complained about being searched at Woolworth’s outlets.
‘The SAPS dress orders and other directives specifically prohibit police officers from shopping whilst in uniform, whether they are on or off duty and commanders at all level are compelled to enforce these orders,’ he said.
The compulsory searches were implemented at various Woolworth’s retail outlets in the province, specifically in Durban, following a spate of arson attempts in which incendiary devices were found planted at various stores in the province’s largest city.
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‘These searches are necessary to mitigate the risk posed to shoppers who visit these stores and we shall support such compulsory measures,’ he said.
Meanwhile Woolworth’s, South Africa’s largest clothing and food retailer, last month reported that profits for the year would slump at least 20 percent, impacted by trading conditions in South Africa and Australia for the 52 weeks to the end of June.
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