By Junaid Ebrahim, Executive: Operations
Every year, South African police release statistics that paint a grim picture of the scourge of vehicle-related crimes facing our country.
The latest crime figures show that 60 vehicles are hijacked in South Africa daily, most of them business-owned vehicles.
Police and security companies are struggling to contain armed criminals committing Cash-in-Transit (CIT) heists, hijacking trucks and courier vehicles transporting valuable cargo, and stealing cargo-carrying vehicles. These crimes not only threaten the lives of drivers but also cause businesses to suffer significant financial losses.
The magnitude of the problem came into sharp focus in early 2021 when two security guards, Leo Prinsloo, and Llyod Mtombeni, were attacked by several gunmen while travelling in an armoured truck that was escorting a courier vehicle transporting cell phones.
The attempted heist, which was unsuccessful after the two security guards foiled the attack, was captured by a dashcam and a camera mounted outside their armoured truck.
Dramatic footage of the armoured vehicle being pelted with bullets by the robbers went viral around the world, showing the lengths criminals are prepared to go to steal valuable cargo.
Last year, vehicle tracking and recovery group, Tracker, released statistics that showed that business-owned vehicles have a higher chance of being hijacked than stolen, compared with personal vehicles.
According to vehicle crime figures gathered by Tracker in the first six months of last year, it found that a business-owned vehicle is 65% more likely to be hijacked compared to 35% being stolen.
This means that logistics and fleet management companies like Afrirent must take precautionary security and safety measures to mitigate risks and protect vehicles and drivers from criminal activities.
It is for this reason that Afrirent fleets are fitted with state-of-the-art vehicle management technology (VTM) like Afritracker, a web-based, smartphone app that is linked to our control room.
The GPS-enabled system allows live tracking of the vehicles, which are equipped with dashcams and outside cameras that record footage for use in the event of criminal prosecution. The system provides GPS coordinates, time, and date of the videos, which makes it possible to track the vehicles and provide information about their whereabouts.
The system has a geofencing capability that advises drivers about crime hotspots (‘No-Go’ zones) and alerts the fleet management operators when vehicles veer off the planned routes. This is valuable information given that 60% of vehicle crimes occur in Gauteng, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 17% and the Western Cape at 9%.
Further precautionary measures involve installing in-vehicle panic buttons in our fleets which drivers can use to alert us when they are in distress or are faced with unforeseen emergencies. These panic buttons are automated and can be pressed remotely to call for an emergency response team to be dispatched to locate a vehicle.
Designed to identify any efforts by thieves or criminals trying to manipulate or interfere with it in an attempt to steal vehicles. The system also uses either an RFID key tag driver monitoring system or biometric reader technology, giving each driver a unique driver identification before starting a vehicle.
While Afrirent implements robust measures at the company level, there’s a pressing need for collaborative efforts. Closer cooperation between industry stakeholders, logistics companies, law enforcement, and private security firms is crucial to combating vehicle-related crimes effectively.
South Africa stands at a crucial juncture where collective action, technological innovation, and strategic partnerships can turn the tide against vehicle crimes. By fortifying our defenses, we pave the way for a safer, more secure future.
