{"id":257820,"date":"2020-05-19T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/257820\/vehicle-related-crimes-rapidly-returning-to-pre-lockdown-levels\/"},"modified":"2020-05-18T14:08:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T12:08:27","slug":"vehicle-related-crimes-rapidly-returning-to-pre-lockdown-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2020\/05\/19\/vehicle-related-crimes-rapidly-returning-to-pre-lockdown-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Vehicle-related crime rapidly returning to pre-lockdown levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

While South Africa experienced a drop in vehicle crime during the lockdown, activities are returning to normal levels as the country\u2019s restrictions are being lifted.<\/p>\n

Tracker data, recorded from the 1.1 million installed vehicle base, reveals a 90 per cent reduction in the number of vehicle recovery activities nationally during the first week of the lockdown, as compared to the average weekly vehicle recovery activities pre-lockdown.<\/p>

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This is in line with a preliminary police report that noted a decline in trio crimes, namely car and truck hijackings, business robberies and house robberies, down to 2 098 in the first week of lockdown from 8 853 during the same period in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decrease in vehicle crime activities during lockdown can be attributed to fewer vehicles on the road and a higher presence of law enforcement.<\/p>

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\u201cSince the ease of lockdown restrictions, vehicle-related crimes have increased,\u201d said Ron Knott-Craig from Tracker South Africa.<\/p>\n

It is predicted that vehicle-related crimes will increase even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are already seeing an escalation in crime activities as vehicle movement increases and we expect to get back to pre-Covid-19 vehicle crime levels.<\/p>\n

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Like the rest of the country, criminals are resuming their activities under eased restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder last week\u2019s level four restrictions, we recovered a vehicle, in partnership with law enforcement, which was being moved across a transnational border,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During the first three weeks of lockdown, hijackings attributed a higher percentage of the Tracker vehicle recovery activities compared to theft.<\/p>\n

The pre-Covid-19 Tracker average for hijackings and theft was a 50\/50 per cent split.<\/p>\n

The initial lockdown period saw an average of 63\/37 per cent split in the favour of hijackings.<\/p>\n

This returned to a more even split during the extended lockdown period where Tracker noticed an increase in vehicle movement with more citizens on the road as regulations were eased.<\/p>\n

The slant towards hijackings during lockdown is most likely an opportunistic tactic, with criminals preying on vehicles out in the open, while most other vehicles would have been securely locked away.<\/p>\n

Further crime trends noted by Tracker included a noticeable increase in vehicles being targeted for their loads, particularly food items and fast-moving consumable goods.<\/p>\n

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* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dear reader,<\/em><\/p>\n

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as \u201cfake news\u201d) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.<\/em><\/p>\n

Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za<\/a>) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

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