Undercover police to help boost security at shopping malls

ISTANBUL

Undercover policemen have begun to carry out observations regarding shortcomings in security at Turkish shopping malls, reporting findings to the managerial office of the venues, as authorities tighten up security in various areas in the face of mounting terror attacks in the country. 

Uğur Berk, the manager of luxurious Istanbul shopping mall İstinye Park, said they were conducting cooperation with the police department on possible security shortcomings at the facility, noting that they were receiving reports from undercover police officers working at the site. 

“Last year there were debates about shopping malls with people arguing that security measures should be lowered. In shopping malls, security is maintained by private security firms. But undercover police officers can also enter liker customers and detect security shortcomings,” said Berk. 

Fewer people have been coming to malls amid a rise in terror attacks, he said, but added that the mall would close the year with normal visitor levels.

But Berk added that foreign brands had been affected by the security developments in Turkey as there used to be “lines to open a store here, but now domestic brands are forming the lines.”
 
Turkey was hit by major terror attacks that struck big cities like Istanbul and Ankara in 2016. Mostly carried out as suicide bomb attacks, more than 100 people, including security personnel and civilians, were killed.

Most of the attacks were claimed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).