Cape Town - Vehicle tracking company Tracker says its crime statistics show an 18% decrease in the number of theft and hijackings reported nationally last month, as compared with the five previous months.
The statistics from Tracker’s
1.1million installed vehicle base cover vehicle theft and hijacking, and provide insight into the time of day and day of the week when vehicle crime is most likely to occur in South Africa.
According to Tracker, the trend is consistent year-on-year, with an 18% fall in December 2018 and a 21% fall in December 2017. Tracker also reported having reached the milestone of 100 000 vehicle recoveries this month - the company’s total since its inception in 1996.
Spokesperson Nandi Canning said Tracker data indicated that most
vehicles were hijacked or stolen on a Saturday. This was followed by Thursday and Friday for hijackings and theft respectively.
“Most hijackings are reported between 8pm and 9pm, followed by 12am and 2pm on any day of the week, while theft of a vehicle is reported between 11am and 2pm.”
Canning said Gauteng has the highest percentage of vehicle-related crime (54%), with hijackings prevalent in Joburg and theft mainly in Pretoria. “This is followed by KZN, with Durban in top spot for hijackings and theft.”
She said third was the Western Cape, where Khayelitsha recorded the most hijackings and Cape Town the most vehicle thefts.
Tracker SA executive: operational services Ron Knott-Craig said efforts to combat vehicle crime resulted in 3081 recoveries, 512 arrests and 23 firearms recovered in the second half of last year.
Institute for Security Studies researcher Lizette Lancaster said the lack of attention on street robbery was problematic. It meant serious attacks like hijacking and home robberies would continue to rise.