South Africa’s crime levels not only have an impact on individuals, families and communities, it also has serious financial implications, especially on the insurance industry as the increase in crimes lead to an increase in claims and subsequent premium increases.
This week’s release of the crime statistics for the period April 2019 to March 2020 showed an alarming increase (13%) in car hijackings. The SAPS reported 18 162 cases over the period, that equates to 50 cars being stolen in South Africa every day.
Although there was a slight decrease in the overall counts of crime it still boils down to 1 919 495 counts of 21 serious crimes reported for the 2019/20 period.
As the statistics reflect the period pre-lockdown, it will be interesting to note if the hard lockdown has any impact on the crime rate.
According to various reports, there was an initial decrease in crime, but insurers and tracking companies reported that vehicle theft and hijacking numbers were back to pre-lockdown levels. According to DialDirect, car theft and hijackings are occurring at the same pace as they were pre-lockdown and home robberies are also starting to rise, despite the curfew imposed.
Click here to download the 2019/2020 Crime Stats Presentation.
DialDirect also provides the public with crime prevention tips for advanced level 3 lockdown safety – click here to read more
