Hijacking In South Africa: The Facts
A news article on the website of News24.com on 13 February 2003 described South Africa as a hijack heaven. That was according to “reliable “ police figures that showed a total of 30 000 that were hijacked during the past 2 years.
These shocking figures indicate hijackings are on the increase country-wide - despite earlier police announcements that violent crime has stabilised. Reliable police statistics show that 14 033 cars were hijacked in South Africa last year. At least 1 300 cars have been hijacked since the beginning of the year.
Figures indicate that hijackings have been on the increase in almost all provinces since 2001. In 2001, 14 033 cars were hijacked country-wide. The Western Cape has about 732 000 licensed cars, of which 711 were hijacked in 2001.
The figure for 2002 in the province is 861 cars, and latest ones show that 107 were hijacked between January 1 and February 10 this year. Hijacking figures do not include delivery vans, minibuses or trucks.
80% happen in driveways
More than 9 000 cars were hijacked in Gauteng last year. The province has once again born the brunt, with almost 900 hijackings since January 1 this year. Die Burger has learnt that inadequate police communication was among the reasons why hijackings have not been dealt a death blow.
"Everyone investigates their own cases and doesn't share information with other offices. A lack of co-ordination is a main reason for increased hijackings."
A source said 80% of all hijackings happened in driveways. "Anti-hijacking systems are so sophisticated nowadays that a gun against someone's head has become the only way to get cars." Syndicates are still masterminding hijackings and luxury cars, in particular, are stolen "on order". These are smuggled mainly to Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Institute for Security Studies researcher Antoinette Louw says statistics in possession of Die Burger indicate an alarming 21% increase in hijackings in the Western Cape between 2001 and 2002.
'People need to know the facts'
"Curbing hijackings would require police to swoop on syndicates. Taking action after the hijacking is of no use." South African Insurance Association executive director Caroline da Silva says her association is in the dark as to why police do not announce official hijacking statistics. "People need to know these facts, particularly which car models are most likely to be hijacked."
Police refuse to make official crime statistics available ahead of Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula's announcement of crime figures. Crime statistics are announced only once a year. Nqakula's acting spokesperson, Les Xinwa, said on Wednesday that no new hijacking statistics were available.
Information appeared on NEWS24.com on Feb 13 2003