Crime levels start to rise as economy opens up
Crime levels in Gauteng may have decreased during the lockdown but they are starting to climb again steadily as the economy opens up in Level 3.
This is the trend from Fidelity ADT, who have the largest private security footprint in the country. Philip Uys, Regional Community Development Manager – Inland for Fidelity ADT says during Level 5 there was a very distinct drop in crime.
“We started to see a change in level 4,” says Uys. “If one compares household robberies for example in the same period last year in our specific footprint, we were looking at approximately 1 000 incidents in May 2019. Although this decreased to just over 200 in May 2020, it definitely started to climb week on week.”
Uys says the majority of cases were business burglaries and business robberies s, with some house robberies and street robberies. There were hardly any motor car thefts which are usually run by organised crime. “The majority were opportunistic crimes,” says Uys, “in particular theft of electronic devices such as cell phones from joggers, walkers and cyclists and even laptops and iPads through open windows and/or unlocked doors. This appears to be indicative of criminals starting to care less and less about the lockdown.”
The gradual increase in public activity as South Africa moved to Level 3 has created the perfect environment for criminals to carry on with business as usual and we anticipate a rise in the number of incidents, particularly CIT incidents and commercial vehicle hijackings, especially if the economy remains subdued. We also anticipate a steady increase in the number of residential crimes such as housebreak and theft.
Uys says one interesting observation in the residential market over the last four weeks has been the relatively high rate of housebreak-ins in outlying areas outside of the big metropolitan areas. He says this does not necessarily mean that crime activity is out of control, but rather that crime levels were higher in those towns where the reduction in movement due to lockdown was more aligned to normal public spaces activity.
One concern across the board is the increase in household stress and its potential to increase domestic violence. “We urge communities to be very aware of this and be vigilant to its imminent risks. If you hear concerning screams or sound indicative of domestic violence please report it to your local SAPS office. We are concerned that we may see an increase in violent crime now that alcohol sales have been opened up as well. Although there is no firm stats yet, we believe mental wellbeing is as big a concern under COVID-19 as is physical health,” says Uys.
With little chance for a swift economic recovery, it is anticipated that crime levels will continue to rise and residents and business owners are reminded to remain vigilant at all times.