Truck hijackings increased by 6.6% over 10 years 2004/5 to 2013/14 and recorded a 5.1% increase in 2013/2014, announced South African Police Service (Saps) commissioner Ria Phiyega, while analysts are disputing the general crime figures as the under-reporting of crimes is rife.
“The under-reporting of crime undermines efforts to combat and prevent crime in South Africa. Only real, consistent and grassroots improvements in both policing and court services will change this,” said Lizette Lancaster, manager of the Crime and Justice Information Hub at the Governance Crime and Justice Division of the Institute for Security Studies in response to the release of the statistics on Friday. She noted that mistrust of the police and the justice system are some of the major reasons for under-reported crime.
“People are more likely to report a crime if they have a positive attitude about the police. However, many crimes are not reported because the victims believe that the police will not care, that they will be corrupt (e.g. taking bribes and not acting against the perpetrators), or that they will be unable or unwilling to do anything to solve the crime,” said Lancaster in a blog.
Truck hijacking on the up – crime stats
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