Attacks on shopping malls spiral out of control

Police and the specialist crime research unit of the Consumer Goods Council of Southern Africa (CGCSA), this week reported back to the annual Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) conference hosted by the CGCSA every year to plot supply chain and retail trends.

Police say they are working with shopping malls to find a solution.

According to the CGCSA, Cooperation and liaison between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the business community has recently resulted in significant inroads into crime, particularly armed robberies, through a number of innovative projects targeted at improved response times, heightened security awareness and enhanced public security.

This is the heartening news given to both beleaguered retailers and concerned consumers who have felt their security and wellbeing threatened in shopping centres and restaurants, at a breakaway session of the seventh Consumer Goods Council of South Africa Conference. Deputy Provincial Commissioner of SAPS, Bushy Engelbrecht described initiatives such as proactive policing and the establishment of management forums to foster relationships between local police and business leaders to combat crime. His message was complemented by presentations from Professor Kris Pillay, Professor of Criminology at UNISA and Brett Birch, African Region Leader General Electric Infrastructure Security who provided information vital to retailers and consumers on how they could contribute to this crucial partnership between police and business.

Co-operation needed

Engelbrecht repeatedly stressed the value of close cooperation between SAPS and the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, pointing out that both parties, as well as the general public, had a vital responsibility to shoulder in combating crime. "While we will never eradicate crime completely, we can implement crime prevention plans characterised by vigorous action in every field and with every societal institution to increase their effectiveness," he emphasised.

He urged businesspeople to go to their local station to meet the officials and exchange phone numbers so that they could immediately get into contact with the relevant people in times of emergency.

He pointed out that in too many cases, security provided did not come up to standard. "Security equipment which does not provide quality video material is not even worth installing," he stressed. He pleaded with retail management to ensure that surveillance equipment was properly placed and lighted and of a quality that would assist police in apprehending offenders. "Videos also help us pinpoint forensic evidence which can lead to the arrest of criminals - and hidden video cameras are particularly effective," he added.

Continuing on the topic of effective video surveillance, Michael Broughton of the CGCSA said police strongly recommended that a national standard for CCTV surveillance should be determined to address shortcomings of existing systems and formats and commented that this was one of the objectives of the industry. In working towards minimum standards, General Electric had been approached for help and Brett Birch of GE provided tips on implementation and best practice in video surveillance in retail.

The greater percentage of spend in anti-crime technology went into CCTV surveillance, mainly to combat employee theft and shoplifting - with retail being by far the most important player.

"A significant investment is required in video surveillance systems," he commented, "and many security managers are finding it difficult to convince management to go ahead with expenditure because of a growing concern that they are not getting the full benefits of the return out of the system."

Technology solutions

Birch identified the essential characteristics of a good system, stressing the importance of picture quality, the relevance of footage, the possibility of sharing pictures with the police, easy access to the pictures remotely to help combat fraud and the additional benefits of installing such a system.

"Technology is constantly being upgraded," he reminded delegates. "Now events which appear no different from normal conditions and are almost impossible to trace can be identified, for instance by implementing an interface with the point of sale. A text output from a till or cash register can be superimposed on recorded video images and provide the ability to search for a specific text string, such as void or zero sales or refunds. Similarly the video surveillance system can be integrated with the security system, such as alarms or access control, to allow you to search by specific events, such as intruder alarm or access to restricted areas, bringing you corresponding footage easily."

A centralised control room for retailers with branches nationwide would permit remote access to pictures so that security managers can verify what is happening on the ground. "This can also shorten the time of getting evidence from one point to another," he pointed out.

Among added benefits he mentioned the ability to disprove public liability lawsuits, monitor the flow of customer traffic, help with design and store layout and product placement, and monitor the length of queues at checkouts.

"Significant technological benefits are currently in progress," Birch continued, "and these are going to have wide-ranging repercussions on the fight against crime." Technology used to detect human movement and used for perimeter protection is being refined to track specific individuals within stores by recognising and analysing unique attributes. This can be applied not only to identifying known criminals or suspects, but to find missing persons, such as children who have strayed from parents. Suspects can even be followed by video surveillance to their cars and their licence numbers detected for later arrest by local police.

Employee input

However, as Kris Pillay of UNISA pointed out, the effectiveness of all this technology is undermined if staff and public are insufficiently educated. He spoke of the importance of a pervasive security ethos, inculcated by security awareness programmes, and pleaded for the promotion of a new core of security practitioners who could raise service levels and competencies.

"For a security awareness programme to be successful, there must be buy-in by top management," he emphasised. "The security department must not be separated from the rest of the organisation but must be fully integrated and operating in synergy with it." He too, stressed that security is everyone's business which would add benefits to all aspects of the company while impacting on its reputation and bottom line.

He repeated that training employees was vital to the success of an effective security policy and awareness programme. "If they don't appreciate what the technology is for, they won't bother to apply it or respect policies and procedures," he said. "They must be taught to act in a secure manner, be vigilant and proactive and report any deviant activity. This will empower them to feel more part of their organisation too."

Employees will cooperate in such programmes if there is some reward attached, when top management and colleagues support them, when there is fear of punishment for non-compliance, when the programme has been interesting, informative and entertaining and when the person doing the presentation is credible. Birch cautioned against complacency by management and a "know-it-all" attitude and stressed the need for on-going programmes.