Crime levels start to rise as economy opens up

Crime levels in Gauteng may have decreased during the lockdown but they are starting to climb again steadily as the economy opens up in level three.

According to Philip Uys, regional community development manager – Inland for Fidelity ADT, during level five there was a very distinct drop in crime.

“We started to see a change in level four,” said Uys.

“If one compares household robberies for example in the same period last year in our specific footprint, we were looking at approximately 1 000 incidents in May 2019.

“Although this decreased to just over 200 in May 2020, it definitely started to climb week on week.”

READ: Crime Stats: The worst ten precincts in South Africa in 2019

Uys says the majority of cases were business burglaries and business robberies, with some house robberies and street robberies.

There were hardly any motor car thefts which are usually run by organised crime.

“The majority were opportunistic crimes, in particular theft of electronic devices such as cellphones from joggers, walkers and cyclists and even laptops and iPads through open windows and/or unlocked doors,” said Uys.

“This appears to be indicative of criminals starting to care less and less about the lockdown.”

The gradual increase in public activity as South Africa moved to level three has created the perfect environment for criminals to carry on with business as usual and a rise in the number of incidents, particularly CIT incidents and commercial vehicle hijackings, is anticipated, especially if the economy remains subdued.

A steady increase in the number of residential crimes such as housebreaking and theft is also expected.

Uys says one interesting observation in the residential market over the last four weeks has been the relatively high rate of housebreakings in outlying areas outside of the big metropolitan areas.

He says this does not necessarily mean that crime activity is out of control, but rather that crime levels were higher in those towns where the reduction in movement due to lockdown was more aligned to normal public spaces activity.

One concern across the board is the increase in household stress and its potential to increase domestic violence.

“We urge communities to be very aware of this and be vigilant to its imminent risks,” said Uys.

READ: Phasing out of lockdown not a good time to downgrade or neglect your security

“If you hear concerning screams or sound indicative of domestic violence please report it to your local SAPS office.

“We are concerned that we may see an increase in violent crime now that alcohol sales have been opened up as well.

“Although there is no firm stats yet, we believe mental wellbeing is as big a concern under Covid-19 as is physical health.”

With little chance for a swift economic recovery, it is anticipated that crime levels will continue.

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