\u201cWe are clear that to grow the economy of Gauteng, we must defeat crime, corruption, and lawlessness,\u201d he said in his address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that all municipalities have joined together to fight crime and have signed a memorandum of understanding to share resources across the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest crime statistics showed that murder decreased by 11% year on year, and property-related crime recorded a 7.8% decrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lesufi said almost 10,000 traffic wardens are now peace officers, creating a multiplier force to assist the police in the fight against crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is only the start. The Gauteng Premier promised stronger policing and law enforcement to create a safe environment to stimulate economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One intervention is to ensure that the province’s top shopping malls are protected to enable late-night shopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that many professionals only leave work at around 19h00, after which they would like to go shopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, shopping malls close earlier than people would like because of crime concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To address this issue, they will allocate significant resources to making Sandton City, Mall of Africa, and Menlyn Maine as safe as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese shopping malls must be safe areas where people can go at any time without any problem of crime,\u201d Lesufi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The programme will include visible policing, roadblocks in the area, and plainclothes officers in the malls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The safety programme will kick in on 1 June 2026 at Sandton City and Mall of Africa, and then move to Menlyn Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that they will start by safeguarding the top three shopping malls they have identified and monitoring their effectiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project will then be expanded to other shopping malls in the province, depending on what they experienced during the first phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rising crime at shopping malls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/shopping-mall--1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShopping malls have increasingly become hotspots for criminal activity in South Africa, from syndicates to petty thieves taking advantage of high foot traffic and crowded spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Security firms have flagged rising crime levels at major shopping centres, where shoplifting and other property-related crimes have surged in high-footfall areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just in-store theft that shoppers need to worry about. The entire mall environment, from parking lots to food courts, creates opportunities for criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gauteng\u2014already a high crime region\u2014has been hit by several high-profile incidents over the years, ranging from heists at tech stores to thefts that target specific demographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, there were several thefts at malls like Cresta and Randridge Mall in Randburg, where armed robbers targeted jewellery stores and other retailers, stealing cash and cellphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Pretoria, security firms reported a notable increase in similar incidents, especially in the eastern parts of the city, such as Mooikloof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2025 also saw the emergence of a syndicate that was specifically targeting women at and around shopping malls in Gauteng with the aim of kidnapping them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vehicles left unattended in the parking bays are also popular targets for criminals, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) noting a particular rise in car thefts involving remote jamming devices at centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vehicle tracking group Tracker confirmed that malls remain key hotspots for vehicle crime, including theft from and theft of vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group highlighted that hijackings peak on Fridays between 15h00 and 22h00, while car thefts are most common on Saturdays from 11h00 to 15h00.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says law enforcement agencies will be deployed to make the top three shopping malls safe at all times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":852041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[1652,11178,11369,19384,12128,24845],"class_list":["post-852029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-gauteng","tag-mall-of-africa","tag-menlyn-maine","tag-panyaza-lesufi","tag-sandton-city","tag-state-of-the-province-address"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852029"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852061,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852029\/revisions\/852061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShopping malls have increasingly become hotspots for criminal activity in South Africa, from syndicates to petty thieves taking advantage of high foot traffic and crowded spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Security firms have flagged rising crime levels at major shopping centres, where shoplifting and other property-related crimes have surged in high-footfall areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just in-store theft that shoppers need to worry about. The entire mall environment, from parking lots to food courts, creates opportunities for criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gauteng\u2014already a high crime region\u2014has been hit by several high-profile incidents over the years, ranging from heists at tech stores to thefts that target specific demographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, there were several thefts at malls like Cresta and Randridge Mall in Randburg, where armed robbers targeted jewellery stores and other retailers, stealing cash and cellphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Pretoria, security firms reported a notable increase in similar incidents, especially in the eastern parts of the city, such as Mooikloof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2025 also saw the emergence of a syndicate that was specifically targeting women at and around shopping malls in Gauteng with the aim of kidnapping them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vehicles left unattended in the parking bays are also popular targets for criminals, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) noting a particular rise in car thefts involving remote jamming devices at centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vehicle tracking group Tracker confirmed that malls remain key hotspots for vehicle crime, including theft from and theft of vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group highlighted that hijackings peak on Fridays between 15h00 and 22h00, while car thefts are most common on Saturdays from 11h00 to 15h00.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says law enforcement agencies will be deployed to make the top three shopping malls safe at all times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":852041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[1652,11178,11369,19384,12128,24845],"class_list":["post-852029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-gauteng","tag-mall-of-africa","tag-menlyn-maine","tag-panyaza-lesufi","tag-sandton-city","tag-state-of-the-province-address"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852029"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852061,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852029\/revisions\/852061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}