Cape Town - Crime statistics conducted by vehicle tracking company Tracker SA revealed a surge in vehicle theft, with Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape being the most affected provinces.
Tracker’s vehicle crime statistics showed a surge in late-season vehicle crime, particularly during the festive season frenzy in November.
Gauteng led in vehicle and business vehicle crime, with 61% of incidents, followed by KZN at 14% and the Western Cape at 9%.
“Relative to Tracker’s subscriber count, the highest propensity toward business vehicle crime occurs in Gauteng, with 17% over-representation of Tracker’s business-owned vehicle base,” said Duma Ngcobo, chief operating officer at Tracker SA.
“This is followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 12% over-representation.
“KwaZulu-Natal shows a high incidence of business-owned vehicle hijackings relative to the business vehicle base, with a 64:36 hijacking to theft ratio,” Ngcobo said.
Ngcobo said the Western Cape’s business vehicles were less likely to experience vehicle crime compared with Tracker’s customer base, but hijacking accounted for 82% of incidents.
“This means that it is almost five times more likely for a business-owned vehicle to be hijacked than stolen in the Western Cape.
“Business vehicle crime in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape is lower, but skewed towards hijacking with a 63:37 ratio compared to theft,” Ngcobo said.
Commenting on these statistics, Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said: “Any form of crime is deeply concerning to us as the Western Cape government. The theft or hijackings of vehicles, whether they be personal or business, is no different. Crime statistics show a 23.3% decrease in truck hijackings and car hijacking cases from 30 to 23 in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the previous year.”
Allen encouraged motorists and businesses to always take the necessary and relevant precautions to ensure that they did not become a victim of any form of vehicle crime.