Various organisations from shopping centre management to business organisations met on Thursday to discuss improved security standards and measures needed to reduce the scourge of crime at shopping centres.
The initiative is designed to formulate effective partnerships between retailers and shopping centre management and owners, and between shopping centres and government, which are necessary to reduce the crime challenges.
The prevalence of violent and organised crime in shopping centres across the country has been a growing concern of government, business and the public.
Business Against Crime (BAC) South Africa Shopping Centre Security Initiative Project Manager Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane told reporters, the BAC had identified three provinces in the proposed roll out of the security initiative.
“Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape have been identified,” she said.
The Shopping Centre Security Initiative is aimed at providing both shopping centres themselves and managing and owner companies with a number of concrete plans in the protection against violent and organised crime.
These include early warning systems, information in trends and lessons learnt regarding violent crime at shopping centres, enhancing relations between shopping centre management and the police in terms of crime prevention and investigation, developing patterns of the different security risks facing shopping centres, best security practices at shopping centres, and special cash management procedures.
The initiative is unique in its nature as it demonstrates the value of co-operation in terms of public-private partnerships, and also highlights the seriousness with which business view security at shopping centres.
Irish-Qhobosheane said the initiative would be a joint venture between 17 funding businesses, who also owned about 80% of South Africa's shopping centres, and the police.
She said the major difference between this year and last was the fact that in 2006 “we were responding to the crime situation, however, we now have a planned approach to the situation.”
The initiative was established in 2006 when Liberty Life Properties and Pareto agreed to provide initial start up funding to set it up.
Funding is currently provided by a number of companies including Sanlam, Old Mutual Properties, Investec, Growth Point, and Vukile.
In August this year, BAC Chief Executive Officer Simphiwe Nzimande said, some 900 arrests were made, adding that between June and October, the instances of violent crime in shopping centres had decreased by 30%.
Article published courtesy of BuaNews
