Police Scotland have issued a warning to overzealous shoppers ahead of this week’s eagerly anticipated Black Friday event.
Bargain-hunters are being urged to maintain their dignity and respect other members of the public while searching for discounted goods.
Superintendent Graeme Murdoch warned that the force would not stand for a repeat of the scenes from last year, which saw the city’s Tesco Extra store on Kingsway West forced to close after crowds flooded the supermarket.
He said: “Last year’s event saw chaotic scenes across the country with huge crowds grappling for a bargain.
“Our own local area was no exception and I am sure that many of us were fairly surprised at some of the scenes and behaviour we saw reported in the media.
“We would like to remind shoppers in Tayside to take stock of their own behaviour whilst inside and outside of stores during the sales this year.
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“We have being working closely with retail stores to support them in preparing for any antisocial and criminal behaviour and we will also have additional resources in place to deal with any outbreaks of disorder. Officers will attend shops if necessary in order to keep the peace and deal with disorder.
“Anyone caught committing an offence will be charged and reported to the procurator fiscal.”
Black Friday is a tradition imported from America which has caught on in the UK in recent years.
The event sees stores slash the prices of products in the hope that the discounts attract hundreds of shoppers.
Asda has already confirmed that it will not be participating this year and Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have announced that they will not be extending their opening hours on the day.
Tesco will attempt to prevent last year’s scenes by closing some of its bigger 24-hour stores at midnight on Thursday, reopening again at 5am.
The stores will have extra security and safety barriers in response to lessons learned last year when a huge crowd of shoppers got heavy-handed in a fight over cut-price televisions.
Dundee’s city centre shopping outlets are also marking the occasion, with Argos in the Overgate opening at 6am and other retailers following suit at 8am.
The Wellgate Shopping Centre in Dundee is taking part for the first time, with many stores opening as late asmidnight.