The Minister of Police, Senco Mchunu, has revealed that the authorities let 18 alleged car and truck hijackers walk free in the 2023/24 financial year.
These cases were withdrawn due to insufficient evidence, said Mchunu in a Parliamentary Q&A.
Hijackings were not the only crime for which the South African Police (SAPS) halted investigations, with nine cases of murder and 1,416 cases of rape also being withdrawn over this same period.
Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana, who posed the questions to Mchunu, said these figures underscore the need for more detectives in the police force who are able to pursue credible cases in a timely manner.
At present, the SAPS is starved of detectives with 8,594 vacant posts for this position across the various police departments in the country.
“It means that the women and men in blue are overstretched, and will at times miss key pieces of evidence needed to deem a case successful,” said Mchunu.
“Crime stalks every community across the country, it is therefore vital that a full complement of detectives is recruited in order to ensure that there is a full detective service that is able to ensure that heinous crimes such as rape, murder, and hijacking are investigated and prosecuted.”
60 cars are hijacked in South Africa every day
The latest SAPS crime stats for the first quarter of the 2024/2025 period revealed that 5,438 vehicles were hijacked in South Africa between April and June 2024, averaging out to 60 incidents every single day.
While this is lower than the average of 65 hijackings experienced in the third quarter of 2023/2024, it is still an alarming figure to say the least.
The table below details the SAPS stations at which the most hijackings were reported in Q1 of the 2024/25 period, based on province.
| Province | RSA position | Station | Carjackings reported in Q1 2024/2025 | Count difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WC | 1 | Nyanga | 98 | +17 |
| EC | 3 | Kwazakele | 81 | +43 |
| Gauteng | 4 | Orange Farms | 81 | +21 |
| KZN | 20 | Newlands East | 42 | +35 |
| Mpumalanga | 37 | Delmas | 33 | +16 |
| NW | 84 | Hebron | 21 | +13 |
| Limpopo | 135 | Thohoyandou | 13 | -11 |
| Free State | 167 | Bloemspruit | 9 | +6 |
| NC | 393 | Barkly West | 1 | +1 |
In a recent letter to Mchunu, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said that while great strides were made during the first half of the country’s democracy, police effectiveness has declined since 2012.
For example, the SAPS’ detection rate for murder dropped from 31% to 12%, while instances of this crime simultaneously shot up by 77%, whereas armed robberies rose by over 41%.
Almost three out of four South African citizens surveyed in 2021 also said they had little or no trust in the police.
“This decline is partly due to a shifting crime landscape as a result of growing social and economic challenges and new technology, while the SAPS – a large and cumbersome organisation – has changed very little over the past couple of decades,” said Gareth Newham, Head of Justice and Violence Prevention at the ISS.
For instance, hijackers and vehicle thieves have devised clever methods to carry out their crimes in recent times.
They use systems such as signal relay and key cloning devices to dupe modern vehicles with keyless-entry functions into thinking their owner is nearby so as to gain access and drive away.
It’s also no secret that dirty cops are working with criminals to carry out illegal roadblocks and roadside checks under the guise of official business, only to rob, assault, and in extreme cases, kidnap unsuspecting victims.
While thieves and hijackers are continually evolving, the SAPS is struggling to keep its vehicles on the road.
In July 2023, ex-Police Minister Bheki Cele divulged that 21% of all police vehicles in the country, and 16% of vehicles used by detectives, were not in working condition.
In the last financial year, the SAPS also lost 5,733 members largely as a result of retirements and resignations, with 77.5% being highly skilled or senior staff, as reported by BizNews.
Rock bottom
In his inaugural budget speech as the new Police Minister, Mchunu said that the SAPS’ approved budget for 2024/25 is R113.597 billion – a whopping R72.5 billion higher than a decade ago.
Mchunu said that the massive budget was allocated to “enhance the capacity and capabilities of the SAPS, modernise our operations, and work collaboratively with communities and stakeholders to combat crime and ensure the safety and security of all South Africans.”
Among others, the funding will enable the SAPS to appoint another 10,000 police trainees, “covering personnel losses through natural attrition and facilitating workforce growth,” said Mchunu.
This will assist the country’s law enforcement agencies in tackling surging violent crimes, gender-based violence, and femicide, as well as combat economic crimes.
However, many challenges and shortcomings still face the country’s police force, including:
- Increased workloads
- Insufficient resources
- Need for modernisation
- Low morale of members
- Reduced budget allocations
- SAPS members involved in crime
- Ageing and inadequate infrastructure
Mchunu said that addressing these grievances sits on top of the SAPS’ agenda.
Join the discussion