Personal safety comes first at Gold Reef City
The month of December is often termed ‘the silly season’ as people begin to relax more and look forward to some hard earned time off to be spent with family and friends.
ORMONDE – Unfortunately, it also tends to be a peak period for criminal activity as holidaymakers become slightly complacent about personal safety. Whether people are visiting shopping malls, eating out at their favourite restaurants or spending a night out on the town, any public space that might be over-crowded or where money is changing hands can pose a risk.
With this in mind, Gold Reef City has three focus areas of safety and security so that visitors can have a care-free and enjoyable time at the casino, theme park or apartheid museum this festive season. Safety and security manager Thomas Pillay says, “We want our visitors to have a care-free experience when visiting the precinct and not have to worry about criminal activity. To create this environment, Gold Reef City has three key areas when it comes to our safety.”
Local police stations play an important role
In addition, having a great relationship with the local police station that covers the area is important to increasing the level of safety and security. “We have a strong relationship with the Booysens Police Station making them a valuable resource to help us ensure our visitor’s safety,” says Pillay. Brigadier Morgan Rangasamy of the Booysens Police Station agrees, saying that the partnership they have established with Gold Reef City over the years has been beneficial. “We take the safety of our community very seriously and it is always good to work with likeminded organisations such as Gold Reef City in our efforts,” says Rangasamy.
In-house security and safety measures
Gold Reef City also has its own professional safety and security staff on the premises who have been specially trained to look after the visitors to the precinct. During the festive period, Gold Reef City has deployed a stand at the tollgate entrance of the theme park where members of the SAPS will be stationed. This will be manned by two reservists day and night for the bulk of the season (December 13 to January 5, 2014). Having police visibility on the Gold Reef City property serves as a deterrent to those would be criminals, believes Pillay and also gives our valued guests peace of mind when they enter our property. In addition, Gold Reef City has a Tactical Team that is deployed to the precinct every day of the week for 24 hours which is over and above the internal security staff.
CCTV cameras monitor surrounding areas of Gold Reef City
Earlier this year, Gold Reef City partnered with Edcon and the Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD) to install a number of CCTV cameras in and around the Edgardale and the Ormonde areas. The project is expected to help increase police visibility and serve as a deterrent for crime. Response vehicles and teams who will be dispatched in and around the area are using marked vehicles donated to the City by Edcon and Gold Reef City for effective policing. “Currently, the fastest response time recorded has been 14 seconds,” says Pillay.
