Tracker’s vehicle crime index (VCI) has shown a steady increase in vehicle crime rates in South Africa.
According to the VCI, there was a 12% rise in theft and a 14% increase in hijackings, accounting for annual subscriber volume increases in 2022.
Overall, vehicle crime incidents were 13% higher than in 2021, based on data from over 1.1-million Tracker-installed vehicles.
Gauteng, the country’s most-populated province, recorded an 18% increase in vehicle crime incidents in 2022, with vehicle theft rising by 22% year-on-year and hijackings by 15%.
The Western Cape saw a similar trend, reporting a 14% year-on-year rise in vehicle crime incidents, while KwaZulu-Natal also witnessed a substantial jump in hijackings, with a 25% rise from 2020 to 2021 and an additional 8% increase in 2022.
In KwaZulu-Natal, hijackings accounted for 54% of incidents in 2022.
These vehicle crime incidents are said to have occurred at various times and days, with thefts being most frequent between 11am and 8pm, and Saturdays experiencing higher volumes.
Hijackings were more common on Fridays between 4pm and 8pm.
Tracker attributes the increase in vehicle crime incidents to opportunistic crime, which rose during the Covid-19 lockdown period and has unfortunately remained high even after daily routines have returned to normal.
The company also notes that newer criminal tactics, such as keyless entry theft, have contributed to the increase in thefts.
“These year-on-year increases in observed incident volumes to our base significantly exceed our annual subscriber growth,” it said.
“We saw opportunistic vehicle crime, like hijackings, increase during the Covid lockdown period. This violent crime has unfortunately remained elevated following a return to normal daily routines.
“Moreover, thefts are also on the rise, with newer criminal tactics such as keyless entry theft contributing to this increase.
“Tracker is committed to the care and protection of its customers, their families, and their assets. Since its inception in 1996, Tracker has assisted in the arrest of over 20 000 criminals and has recovered over 119 000 vehicles – 6 356 of these recoveries took place in 2022.”
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