DURBAN - The Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison has resuscitated the Council Against Crime in a bid to close in on syndicates robbing shopping centres across the city.
This is according to MEC Mxolisi Kaunda, who was responding to questions from the Daily News.
In recent weeks, there have been at least 15 mall robberies with gangs zeroing in on jewellery and clothing stores. There were at least 10 robberies reported last month with five more since the start of this month.
Malls that have been targeted are: The Pearls Mall, Musgrave Centre, The Atrium and Southway Mall, while there have also been unconfirmed reports of incidents at Gateway, Scottburgh Mall, The Galleria Mall, Bluff Towers, Watercrest Mall, Pinecrest Shopping Centre, Kloof Village Mall, The Pavilion and Westwood Mall.
Kaunda expressed concern at the robberies, adding that he had met police bodies to discuss a plan to clamp down on the attacks.
“The Council Against Crime is made up of business people, religious leaders, traditional leaders and crime-fighting bodies which are all committed to closing ranks in the fight against crime,” said Kaunda.
Brian Jackson, Operations Manager for Blue Security, said shop owners and staff should be on high alert.
“Most of the incidents reported to us occurred at night or in the early morning, several hours before stores would be expected to open for business. Armed gangs smashed their way through the glass doors of stores using hammers in some cases before fleeing with goods including alcohol, clothing, jewellery and electronic devices,” explained Jackson.
He added that in some cases, gangs walked into stores posing as customers before holding up and robbing staff, so it is important to be security conscious throughout the day.
“We urge retail chains, independent store owners and their staff to be vigilant and to ensure that business alarm systems are activated and to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity when opening up and closing their shops. If you do not already have CCTV surveillance cameras installed in the shop, consider upgrading your security as the intelligence gathered via camera footage can go a long way to help the police and security companies investigate these crimes,” he said.
Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, provincial police spokesperson, appealed to management at the malls to make sure they beefed up security at their business premises.
“Constant patrols are being made by the police to curb any criminal activities at the malls,” she said.
In the latest incident, watches to the value of R400000 were taken when armed men broke display windows at The Crescent Mall in uMhlanga.