The safety and security ministry on Tuesday repeated its claim that vehicle hijackings had decreased over the past three years.
Spokesperson Leslie Xinwa said, however, that statistics on the crime would only be released in the SA Police Service’s (SAPS) annual report in late August or early September.
Xinwa refused to comment on an article in a Johannesburg newspaper in which a Technikon SA lecturer in forensic investigations claimed hijackers got away with around 100 often fatal robberies before being caught.
”We don’t comment on unreleased reports,” he said of Rudolph Zinn’s claims.
Zinn revealed his findings at a recent seminar on crime but he has not yet formally published his findings.
Xinwa was happy to assure the South African public that the number of hijackings had declined since 2000. Even in light of Zinn’s claims, however, statistics would not be released ahead of the SAPS annual report.
The SAPS report would contain statistics specifically on vehicle robberies — commonly known as hijackings.
He also said that the SAPS would not release crime statistics on request as they had done in the past. A few years ago the Safety and Security Ministry, claiming that police statistics were flawed, took a much criticised decision to release statistics annually.
Zinn spent three years interviewing convicted hijackers while they were in prison to compile his masters thesis.
According to Zinn, most hijackers belonged to syndicates and targeted specific cars to fill standing orders.
Quoted in the article Zinn said hijackers were made almost fearless by the knowledge that the chances of their being caught were minimal.
Their only worry was that the driver might have a gun, and when they could not see both of the motorist’s hands, they shot rather than be wounded or killed themselves.
Democratic Alliance spokesperson Douglas Gibson said he had asked for a copy of the report.
Gibson also said he had asked Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula for hijacking statistics beyond March 2002, but had been told he would have to wait for the SAPS report.
”It’s quite shocking, but there it is,” he said. – Sapa