Despite there being a decrease in hijackings year-on-year across South Africa, some provinces still experienced a spike, with month-on-month data revealing an upward trend in the number of carjackings.
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The latest quarterly crime statistics for the first quarter of 2023/24 (1 April to 30 June 2023) reveal that 5 488 cars were hijacked – the equivalent of about 60 cars every day.
While this number represents a decline of 6.4% compared to the same period last year, month-on-month data shows that carjackings actually increased by 8.9% from 1 742 in April to 1 898 in June.
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Businesstech reports that the most notable year-on-year increase in hijackings occurred in the North West (27.6%), followed by Mpumalanga at 17.9% and Limpopo with an increase of 6.2%.
Conversely, carjackings in the Northern Cape decreased by 28.6%, followed by Gauteng (-12.1%), KwaZulu-Natal (-8.5%), Eastern Cape (-3%), and the Free State (-5.5%), while incidents only slightly declined by 0.7% in the Western Cape.
Here is a look at incidents for the three most populated provinces for the first quarter of 2023/24:
- Gauteng: 2 735 hijackings, representing 49.8% of all carjackings,
- KwaZulu-Natal: 835
- Western Cape: 749
Per region, the Western Cape has the most hijackings. Harare takes the lead with a 19% increase over the past year.
These are the top five hijacking hotspots for the three most populated provinces:
Western Cape:
- Harare
- Nyanga
- Philippi East
- Lingelethu-West
- Delft
Gauteng:
- Olievenhoutbosch
- Protea
- Moroka
- Orange Farms
- Midrand
KwaZulu-Natal:
- Umlazi
- Bhekithemba
Fidelity Services CEO Wahl Bartmann says while the decline in incidents of carjackings is a positive sign, it doesn’t mean that hijackings aren’t at alarming levels. He says the most targeted vehicles are some of the most popular in the country, such as:
- VW Polo
- Toyota Hilux
- Toyota Etios
- Ford Ranger
- Toyota Fortuner
- Nissan NP200.
He adds that Toyota Prados and Toyota Landcruisers are also among the most popular models for criminals, although Hilux and Fortuner GD6 models are still preferred.
The report backs these claims, as sedans, hatchbacks and coupes were revealed to account for 2 592 of the vehicles hijacked, followed by bakkies with 1 582. These vehicle segments represented 47% and 29% of all the hijacked cars for the reporting period.
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Picture: Pexels
