Vehicle tracking solutions company Tracker is intensifying its use of technology, as new vehicle hijacking and theft trends emerge in South Africa.
Tracker’s vehicle crime statistics for January to June reveal that at national level, hijackings still dominate, comprising 54% of all vehicle crime incidents, versus theft at 46%.
The Tracker Vehicle Crime Index aggregates information from Tracker’s more than 1.1 million subscriptions.
Duma Ngcobo, chief operating officer of Tracker, tells ITWeb that the company is now tapping into technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) to recover vehicles.
“Tracker uses various technologies, including AI, but predominantly Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, as well as radio frequency technology to track and recover vehicles hijacked or stolen from our customers,” says Ngcobo.
Describing how vehicle tracking technologies have evolved, he says initially, vehicle tracking relied on radio frequency technology.
“These passive devices listen to the radio network to receive an activation command in the event that the vehicle has been stolen or hijacked. Once this command is received by the radio frequency device, it starts to transmit a unique signal that is picked up by the vehicle tracking equipment, which is then used to track and recover the stolen or hijacked vehicle.”
Remote monitoring
According to Ngcobo, radio frequency devices track through signal triangulation, whereas GSM and GPS technology are able to provide a GPS location of a vehicle and additional services.
“Vehicle tracking using GPS and GSM technology also empowers customers to remotely monitor the location of their vehicle at any time via a smartphone app or website. These devices allow the service provider to offer additional value-added products, such as roadside assistance or medical emergency services.”
He adds that simple vehicle tracking units have evolved into smart devices. “Advances in technology have enabled many enhancements and services not previously possible. Tracker has continually researched and adopted the latest trends in technology.”
The Tracker Vehicle Crime Index indicates that in the Eastern Cape, a personal vehicle is four times likelier to be hijacked than stolen. Moreover, it is nine times likelier for a business-owned vehicle to be hijacked rather than stolen in the province, the data reveals.
Additionally, it notes, the highest propensity towards business vehicle crime occurs in the Eastern Cape, with 43% over-representation relative to Tracker’s business-owned vehicle subscriber base.
The Western Cape follows a similar trend, with a skew towards hijacking rather than theft. A personal vehicle is almost twice as likely to be hijacked than stolen, says Tracker.
It points out that a personally-owned vehicle in the Western Cape also has a higher propensity for vehicle crime at 22% over-representation relative to Tracker’s subscriber base.
For a business-owned vehicle, it says, there is statistically lower vehicle crime relative to Tracker’s business subscriber base in the Western Cape, yet it is four times likelier to be hijacked than stolen.
According to Tracker, while hijacking also dominates total business vehicle crime nationally at 65%, vehicle crime for personal vehicles leans towards theft at 52% nationally.
“This means that nationwide, the likelihood of vehicle crime being a hijacking rather than a theft is 34% higher for business vehicles compared to personal vehicles, it notes. Business-owned vehicles are also 45% more likely to experience vehicle crime compared to personal vehicles.
“Business-owned vehicles range from cargo trucks with trailers, to courier vehicles delivering items ordered online. Crime aimed at these vehicles proves highly-lucrative, with the objective mainly to acquire the goods being transported.”
Gauteng sets the pace
Tracker reveals that Gauteng is still the province that experiences the highest volume of vehicle crime, with 58% of the total vehicle crime incidents, which is significantly over-representative of Tracker’s Gauteng vehicle subscriber base.
While 51% of all nationwide hijackings occur in Gauteng due to vehicle volumes, Gauteng experiences more theft at 53% versus hijacking at 47%, it adds.
Across the country, Tracker says, a higher proportion of vehicles are reported hijacked on Fridays, and between the hours of 4pm and 8pm. Theft is mainly reported on Saturdays, and between the hours of 11am and 3pm.
Tracker’s efforts to combat vehicle crime has resulted in 127 884 vehicle recoveries, 20 958 arrests and 1 119 firearms recovered to date.
“Crime tends to shift across provinces over time, and there are different levels of crime based on the sophistication of the crime syndicates in the province,” Ngcobo says.
“At the moment, theft in Gauteng is greater than hijacking, most likely due to syndicates using keyless entry relay attacks to steal vehicles. More concerning is that crime along the N2 corridor towards Gqeberha has significantly increased.
“Given the economic situation in the Eastern Cape, a province with significant unemployment, this is most likely opportunistic crime. In other words, the hijacking and looting of bounty on the back of trucks or in delivery vehicles, with a view to converting this into quick, easy, untraceable cash.”
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