Shopping centres maintain high levels of security

Tracey Fowler, GM of the SACSC, says that centre managements and owners throughout South Africa are being extra vigilant to protect the safety of their customers against the threat of robberies or violence. In some centres, security has been beefed up to maintain vigilance inside and also to monitor suspicious activity outside the centres.

Fowler says that a very large part of the enjoyment of the holidays is the entertainment provided at shopping centres. Children and their parents visit the centres not only to shop, but to watch movies and the live entertainment provided over the festive season.

"It is essential that they be aware of the dangers that have become a feature of high season holiday activity in shopping centres," she warns.

She advises parents of small children to ensure that they are accompanied by a responsible teenager or adult who is capable of keeping track of them and maintaining control of their movements. "Kids on the loose are in greater danger than those in groups or under the control of their parents. If there is a crisis, a cool adult head can keep kids safe. Alone, they could panic and be hurt."

SACSC executive director George Skinner says the organisation has been in close touch with its membership in advance of the 2006 festive season to discuss increased measures to guard against escalating crime in the shopping centres. "We assist in the exchange of advice and research - anything that will make the shopper safer," he says.