Security guards at shopping malls will not be armed to avoid "war zones", a conference heard in Johannesburg on Friday.

"We don't want shoot-outs in malls because bullets fly," said Michael Broughton, head of security for the SA Council of Shopping Centres.

He explained that he did not want children or staff at risk of being killed.

"We don't want anyone killed by a stray bullet and that is why we are not arming guards," he said.

Broughton was speaking to the media at the 13th African Congress of Shopping Centres at the Sandton Convention Centre.

He said there were on average 25 mall robberies a month in South Africa, with Gauteng being the highest risk province. KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape were the second highest risk areas.