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The annual crime statistics released by the South African Police Service highlights the scourge of hijackings and vehicle crime in SA.
Carjackings saw a decrease in 2017/18 (from 2016/17), with 16 325 cases, down 2.3% from the previous year's 16 717 cases. Almost half of these cases in the past year occurred in Gauteng.
A grave concern
Truck hijackings, however, saw a 1.6% increase in the past year, with 1 202 cases in 2017/18 compared to the 1 183 cases the year before.
SEE: More than 17 000 hijackings in SA - here's how you can protect yourself on our roads
Pro-Active SA's Ryno Schutte said: "Though we see a slight decrease in carjackings in South Africa, where 2015/2016 was at 14 602 and 2016/2017 at 16 717 is the slight decrease by 392 counts still not enough.
"It does indicate that drivers are becoming more vigilant. The decrease can also be contributed to the collaboration between law enforcement, security service providers and the community."
"Carjackings are still a grave concern in the country and one of the most feared crimes as it can occur anywhere or at any time."
Vehicle Crime 2018
Image: Ryno Schutte/Pro-Active SA
"We have also seen a decrease in the theft of motor vehicles which has been on the decline over the past 10 years. The decrease of 2622 counts from 2016/2017 were 53 307 to 2017/2018 which indicated 50 663.
"What needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that not all vehicles hijacked or stolen are reported if recovered within a short period of time as mentioned in the Victims of Crime Survey 2017. Some of the reasons victims don’t report these incidents are as follows:
"The reasoning by households for not reporting motor vehicle theft incidents to the police in 2015/2016 depict that 22.4% solved the incident themselves, 54.1% solved the incident through their family, with a staggering 23.5% indicating believed that the police won’t do anything about the incident."
Vehicle Crime 2018
Image: Ryno Schutte/Pro-Active SA
Schutte said: 'Households that reported the vehicle theft incidents to other institutions other than the police indicated that 6.4% reported it to the community police forum, 20.7% reported it to a private security Institution and 68.3% reported the incident to their insurance."
Plenty to ponder
He said: "Households that reported hijacking incidents to other institutions other than the police indicated that 9.3% reported them to traditional authorities, 12.2% to private security institutions, 43.3% to the insurance company while 35.3% reported the incident classified under other."
Vehicle Crime 2018
Image: Ryno Schutte/Pro-Active SA
Schutte said: "Theft of Motor Vehicle occurrences can be concluded that in 2015/2016 47.7% of incidents took place at home, 17% in a parking lot, 15.4% on the street in a residential area, 13.1% on the street in town, 5.3% outside the office/shops / at work and 1.4% was classified under other. 52.2% of incidents occurred away from home which confirms past surveys and statistics released."
"Weapons used by perpetrators in hijacking incidents indicated that in 75.5% of incidents a firearm was used, 32.2% a knife was used, 15.4% an axe was used, 13.8% a metal object was used and 9.3% of incidents, a stick was used."
"Households who experienced the loss of a vehicle by population group in 2015/2016 indicated that 0.22% of black Africans, 0.9% coloured, 0.8% Indian/Asian and 0.99% white were impacted.
"Through the Victims of Crime Survey, it can be concluded that 9.2% of households in SA experienced at least one household type crime during 2015/2016.
"It can be concluded through previous surveys conducted that theft of motor vehicle and hijacking can be classified as an organised crime. SA loses over R8.5-billion to vehicle theft and hijacking."
Image: YouTube
"Of the vehicles stolen, 57% are taken across the border, 36% filter back into SA as cloned vehicles and the rest land in chop shops. The contribution of real-time intelligence could help lower these statistics.
"Increased protection measures in vehicles contribute to the increase of hijackings, but with effective intelligence sharing of a vehicle, theft incident will have a significant impact on other forms of crime which include armed robberies, theft, drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime."
