[imagesource: Gcina Ndwalane/ANA]

Late last month, Minister of Police Bheki Cele released the crime stats for life under lockdown alert level 5, revealing a significant decrease in crime across the board when compared to March and April last year.

Cele said that by the end of the initial 21-day lockdown, over 107 000 criminal cases had been opened, and more than 118 000 people had been charged for offences relating to lockdown restrictions like the illicit trade of alcohol and tobacco.

The national lockdown was then extended, and downgraded to alert level 4, easing up restrictions on movement and allowing some industries to reopen operations under strict health and safety guidelines and with reduced capacity.

Criminals appear to have taken advantage of these reduced restrictions and are back on the ‘job’, so to speak.

According to BusinessTech, vehicle crime – one of the areas significantly reduced during the first phase of extreme physical distancing – is now rising rapidly and returning to ‘normal levels’.

Vehicle-tracking company Tracker’s records show that vehicle recovery activities are far higher than they were in the first week of lockdown.

“The first week of level 4 restrictions has seen vehicle recovery activities more than double compared to the lockdown extension figures, representing a six-fold increase from the first week of lockdown to figures that are now only 35% lower than pre-lockdown averages.

The company predicts that the levels will rise even further as more South Africans return to work.

The most common vehicle-related crime on the rise is hijacking.

“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.”

Vehicles are also being targeted for their loads like food or other goods deemed valuable during the pandemic.

South Africans are advised to be extra vigilant when leaving the house to stock up on groceries, or when driving to work.

Crime rates are expected to continue their ascent as movement restrictions are reduced throughout the country.

[source:businesstech]