The rate of vehicle hijacking has seen a slight decrease in South Africa, but the numbers remain alarming.
According to the latest crime statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Friday, 5,438 carjackings took place throughout the country from April to June 2024, which is statistically regarded as the first quarter of the new financial year.
This represents a decrease of 0.91% from the 5,488 carjackings recorded in the same period of 2023, and a 7.2% decline from 2022s 5,866, which was the highest number recorded this decade.
On a provincial level, the Western Cape saw a 17.1% year-on-year increase in carjackings from April to June, with incidents rising from 749 to 877, which saw the province overtaking KwaZulu-Natal for second place in the country.
But it was the Eastern Cape that saw the biggest increase, with carjacking occurrences rising by 30.2% from 394 to 513, putting the province in fourth place nationally.
