Hijacking is up as criminals become bolder – experts

As car hijacking continues to escalate in South Africa, it has prompted calls for enhanced security measures and greater vigilance among motorists.

Richard Brussow, of the National Hijack Prevention Academy, said crimes trends involving vehicles had become brazen and creative.

“We continue to see people getting boxed in, in their driveways, and their cars taken. This accounts for 70% of the cases. Traffic lights and stop signs also attract hijackers, but relay attacks in parking areas have dramatically increased.

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“In these cases, criminals intercept the vehicle signal and relay it to a second person who then steals the car. Road spikes have also increased drastically.”

Brussow explained hijacking trends often peaked towards Friday and into the weekend.

“Hijacking is easy because it is done with guns. The victims are often taken and extorted, with their bank cards emptied and in some cases kidnapped.

“We see a peak in hijackings on Fridays, with the crime tending to increase on weekends, while Mondays are relatively quiet. By Tuesday, the criminals start hunting again. However, it’s important for the public to stay vigilant every day.”

The last quarter of 2023 saw the country reach a record high of almost 23 000 stolen vehicles. According to crime statistics, about 66 vehicles were hijacked daily, most in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

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Andre Aiton, managing director of Beagle Watch, said one of the strongest measures currently in place is the civilian crime intelligence network, which has set up command centres across the country with a coordinated approach to crime.

“We see the broader network at work with people sharing camera footage and licence plate recognition data with police.”

Mike Bolhuis, a specialist investigator into serious violent crime, said sophisticated technology is essential for proactive crime prevention.

“This involves retrieving cellphone information and using networks to detect keywords in digital communications, such as ‘hijack’ or ‘kidnap’, to identify potential threats.”