New crime initiative targets truck hijackers

Private sector participation plays crucial role JOY ORLEK BUSINESS AGAINST Crime has started the roll-out of a new vehicle anti-hijacking initiative which extends the scope of its original project to include truck hijackers. An integrated approach in which private sector involvement has played a key role has seen a dramatic drop in vehicle hijacking statistics in the Gauteng region from 61% of the national total in 2002 to 45.7% in 2003. This represents a 23% decrease in the reported number of hijackings in Gauteng for the full 2003 year, says BAC project manager organised crime, Lorinda Nel, a figure which attests to the success of the initiative. The anti-hijacking project was initiated in May 2003 in Gauteng, because it represented the highest percentage of vehicle hijackings country-wide. Seven policing areas were established, each with its own task team staffed with 250 members in total and effectively resourced. Teams comprise specifically three components, Nel explained – detectives, crime intelligence and rapid response, which also takes care of visible policing and crime prevention. And according to Nel, the participation of the private sector has been crucial to the success of the project. “For example the tracking companies have given tremendous assistance to the police in the recovery of vehicles, especially within that golden hour immediately after the hijacking. There’s a close working relationship and close communication between all the different parties, with competitor companies combining resources for the common good. It’s a truly integrated team.” One of the initiatives that has paid huge dividends is the setting up of a specific ‘hijacker database’. “All hijackers whose fingerprints were picked up at previous crime scenes were loaded on the database and a part of this special operation was to hunt down these criminals. This led to a number of arrests,” she said. Specialised courts were also set up to deal specifically with hijacking. Each is staffed by two prosecutors in order to separate the bail hearing from the actual trial. “They give dedicated, focused attention and provide leadership to investigating officers, helping to link perpetrators implicated in different crime scenes.” The truck initiative is a new one, and although all the truck hijackings have been part of the specialised courts, there’s a lot more focused attention on them at the moment, says Nel. A close working relationship has been forged with the private sector freight companies and the police. “The number of truck hijackings over the past five years has been rather low because of various initiatives put in place by cargo owners and transporters to protect their high value cargo. There has however been an increase in most areas of Gauteng with the freight rather than the vehicle being the focus, which is why the market into which the goods are sold is being targeted. An operational plan has been put in place that builds on the original vehicle hijacking model. “It’s based on the same principles,” says project director Dr Graham Wright, “partnerships with the private sector, integrated policing and integrated law enforcement and prosecution.” While BAC has effectively concluded its involvement in the original anti-hijacking initiative, hopes are high that its success will be replicated in the latest undertaking which has been welcomed by the freight industry.