Picture File: Police inspect the scene of a cash-in-transit heist in Langlaagte, 22 January 2021. Picture: Sibongumenzi Sibiya
Aggravated robberies such as carjacking increased by 13.8% in South Africa between October and December last year.
This was revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Friday in Cape Town during the release of the quarterly crime statistics for the last three months of 2021.
Major-General Norman Sekhukhune said there were 661 more carjacking cases reported to police for the period under review.
There were 230 carjacking cases reported to police in October, 128 in November, and 303 in December.
“The only three provinces that have recorded decreases in terms of the carjacking cases was the Free State with three counts less, North West with four counts and the Western Cape with 16 counts less,” Sekhukhune said.
According to the stats, the top five police stations that reported most carjacking cases were Harare, Nyanga and Philippi East in the Western Cape as well as Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal and Orange Farm in Gauteng.
In terms of Cash-In-Transit (CIT) heists, they decreased during the reporting period, with five fewer cash vans targeted by criminals, compared to 2020.
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Gauteng, which is the province where CIT heists are most prevalent, recorded the largest decrease of nine fewer cases.
“The provinces that recorded decreases in terms of CIT heists were Gauteng with nine, Mpumalanga with one, the Western Cape with five and we never had an incident in this current quarter in Nothern Cape,” Sekhukhune said.
The South African Police Service (Saps) attributed the decline in heists to the specialised CIT Task Teams established countrywide to infiltrate and takedown well-organised and sophisticated criminals gangs.
2,605 kidnapping cases were opened with the police between October and December last year, resulting in 686 more cases compared to 2020.
225 kidnapping cases were reported in October, 283 in November and 178 in December.
There was a decline in this crime trend in only two provinces – the Free State and Western Cape. The other seven provinces recorded increases in kidnappings.
Police said the leading motive for this crime was hijacking followed by robbery and rape-related kidnappings.
The top five police stations that reported most kidnapping cases were Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg Central, Randfontein, Tembisa and Mondeor in Gauteng.
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