Since before Covid, there has been a dramatic increase in hijackings in South Africa, and during the past 12 months, the problem has only become worse.
The most recent crime statistics, which were released by police minister Bheki Cele on Friday, February 17, depict a dismal image for South Africa’s safety and security.
Apart from the rise in violent crime, which will result in 74 murders per day by 2022, all types of crime have also increased in the nation.
Cele asserted that although the statistics “don’t offer a generally favourable image of the crime situation in our nation,” efforts were being made to improve it.
One area where the police appear to be losing the battle, however, is with hijackings, which are up a staggering 30% from levels in 2019, before the Covid pandemic hit.
South Africans recorded 17,777 carjackings in the year 2019; on average, 49 automobiles were taken. This figure increased to 23,025 carjackings by the end of 2022, a 30% rise, with an average of 63 automobiles taken per day.
Carjackings increased from 30.2 per 100,000 people in 2019 to 37.7 in 2019, when expressed as a rate per 100,000 persons in the nation. Even while the SAPS’ quarterly data indicates a little rise in carjackings—2.8% more per year—looking over the entire calendar year reveals a 15% increase in hijackings in 2022 compared to 2021.
As with most of the crime categories tracked by the SAPS, carjackings are most prevalent in South Africa’s most populous regions, such as Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
Notably, Gauteng has seen a decrease in carjackings over the most recent quarter – however, it still ranks as the worst province in the country for the number of hijackings it experiences. The province recorded 2,632 cases, more than three times the number of cases in the Western Cape.
While coming off a lower base, the Eastern Cape saw a significant jump in cases, up almost 47% from the same quarter in 2021. When annual statistics is taken into consideration, the situation is grim, especially for Gauteng.
The province had a 12.1% increase in hijackings to 11,626 instances in 2022, building on an already high base. In the province, there are now 32 carjackings each day on average. However when expressed as a rate per 100,000 individuals, this translates to a rate of 71.7 hijackings. Compared to the other provinces, this is much greater.
In terms of hijacking targets, the main types of vehicles being hijacked are sedans and hatchbacks, followed by bakkies and then SUVs.
Reports from private security services in 2022 align with these general categories. Fidelity ADT and Tracker have previously warned that the following vehicles are often targeted in South Africa:
- Toyota Hilux
- Volkswagen Polo
- Toyota Quantum
- Nissan NP200
- Toyota Fortuner
- Toyota Etios
- Toyota Yaris
- Ford Ranger
- Ford Figo
- Nissan Navara
Security professionals have also expressed concern about an increase in kidnappings in South Africa; according to SAPS data from the past, many recorded kidnappings are connected to hijackings.