Carjacking: Insights from South Africa to a New Crime Problem
Carjacking — Insights from South Africa to a New Crime Problem
Linda Davis
University of Pretoria, South Africa
A
l t h o u g h ve h i c l e h i j a c k i n g i s a wo r l dwi d e p h e n ome n o n , i t h a s increased to such an extent in South Africa that it is currently regarded as one of the countries with the highest hijacking figures in the world. It is estimated that a motor vehicle is hijacked every 40 to 54 minutes in South Africa. This implies that more than 25 motor vehicle drivers become victims of hijackings daily. Despite these statistics, little is known about the factors that could increase an individual’s potential to become a victim of this crime. In this article, selective research findings of an exploratory study of 12 vehicle hijackers are highlighted in an attempt to elucidate possible factors that could influence target selection during a vehicle hijacking. From the findings it became evident that hijacking does not take place erratically: hijackers are selective in the choice of targets and target selection mostly takes place based on the vehicle driven by the motorist.
Vehicle hijacking — “carjacking” — can be defined as the intentional and unlawful theft or attempted theft of a vehicle by force or threat of force. As an example of the extent to which this crime now occurs in some societies, an average of 35,000 completed and attempted hijackings take place each year in the United States of
America (Rand, 1994). Although various factors such as lucrative outlets, national and international organised crime syndicates, inadequate border control, insufficient vehicle identification, corruption, the availability of weapons and limited cooperation between neighbouring countries might contribute to high vehicle hijacking figures worldwide, one of the main reasons for the increase in vehicle hijacking seems to be improved security measures installed in vehicles to prevent the theft. In order to neutralise
Linda Davis
University of Pretoria, South Africa
A
l t h o u g h ve h i c l e h i j a c k i n g i s a wo r l dwi d e p h e n ome n o n , i t h a s increased to such an extent in South Africa that it is currently regarded as one of the countries with the highest hijacking figures in the world. It is estimated that a motor vehicle is hijacked every 40 to 54 minutes in South Africa. This implies that more than 25 motor vehicle drivers become victims of hijackings daily. Despite these statistics, little is known about the factors that could increase an individual’s potential to become a victim of this crime. In this article, selective research findings of an exploratory study of 12 vehicle hijackers are highlighted in an attempt to elucidate possible factors that could influence target selection during a vehicle hijacking. From the findings it became evident that hijacking does not take place erratically: hijackers are selective in the choice of targets and target selection mostly takes place based on the vehicle driven by the motorist.
Vehicle hijacking — “carjacking” — can be defined as the intentional and unlawful theft or attempted theft of a vehicle by force or threat of force. As an example of the extent to which this crime now occurs in some societies, an average of 35,000 completed and attempted hijackings take place each year in the United States of
America (Rand, 1994). Although various factors such as lucrative outlets, national and international organised crime syndicates, inadequate border control, insufficient vehicle identification, corruption, the availability of weapons and limited cooperation between neighbouring countries might contribute to high vehicle hijacking figures worldwide, one of the main reasons for the increase in vehicle hijacking seems to be improved security measures installed in vehicles to prevent the theft. In order to neutralise