These are the worst hijacking areas in South Africa
The South African Police Service has published its latest crime stats for 2018, showing the areas most affected by hijacking.
According to the statistics, incidents of carjacking have decreased since 2017, though the number of truck hijackings has increased slightly.
As many as 16,325 carjackings were reported in the period, a decrease of 2.3% from the 16,717 cases in 2017. Statistically, this means that 45 cars are hijacked every day in South Africa.
Being the most populous province in the country, it comes as no real surprise that most incidents happen in Gauteng, where 8,296 cases were reported (23 cases a day – more than half the total). This is followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, which reported 2,698 and 2,182 cases respectively.
Notably however, while these three provinces have the highest rate of hijackings in the country, they were also the only provinces to see a decline in the number of crimes.
The other provinces all saw carjackings increase over the past year, with the Northern Cape seeing the biggest jump – 27.6%, though this is off a low base.
The table below shows how many cars are stolen every day across the nine provinces and South Africa:
| Province | Reported carjackings 2018 | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| Gauteng | 8 269 | 23 |
| KwaZulu Natal | 2 698 | 7 |
| Western Cape | 2 182 | 6 |
| Eastern Cape | 999 | 3 |
| Mpumalanga | 896 | 2 |
| Limpopo | 584 | 2 |
| North West | 425 | 1 |
| Free State | 235 | 1 |
| Northern Cape | <1 | |
| South Africa | 276 | 45 |
Looking at the worst areas, Gauteng dominates the list, though it is Nyanga in the Western Cape that has the highest number of reported carjackings.
Across the 30 worst precincts, it’s also worth noting that things have generally got worse in terms of hijackings, with only 11 stations seeing a decline in the reported number of crimes.
In South Africa, crimes need to be reported at the police station that is closest to where the crime took place, giving a fair indication of the crime levels in the general region the police station is found in.
It should be noted, however, that station statistics may encompass more areas than where the station is located. For example, a station in a remote area may represent the reported crimes of several neighbourhoods and small towns surrounding it, as it is the only station available to service those areas.
There are approximately 1,140 police stations in the country.
These are the worst areas for hijackings in South Africa:
| Station | Province | Reported carjackings 2018 | Change from 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyanga | Western Cape | 276 | +7.4% |
| Jeppe | Gauteng | 262 | +10.1% |
| Booysens | Gauteng | 198 | -20.8% |
| Honeydew | Gauteng | 184 | +23.5% |
| Moffatview | Gauteng | 183 | +18.1% |
| Delft | Western Cape | 175 | +6.7% |
| Johannesburg Central | Gauteng | 169 | +11.9% |
| Kempton park | Gauteng | 168 | +15.1% |
| Vosloorus | Gauteng | 158 | +83.7% |
| Tembisa | Gauteng | 156 | +32.2% |
| Umlazi | KwaZulu Natal | 150 | -2.0% |
| Khayelitsha | Western Cape | 144 | -0.7% |
| Cleveland | Gauteng | 143 | +23.3% |
| Dobsonville | Gauteng | 142 | -8.4% |
| Kwazakele | Eastern Cape | 139 | -8.6% |
| Moroka | Gauteng | 131 | +13.9% |
| Mfuleni | Western Cape | 126 | +22.3% |
| Roodepoort | Gauteng | 124 | +34.8% |
| Harare | Western Cape | 124 | -28.3% |
| Bramley | Gauteng | 123 | +28.1% |
| Mamelodi East | Gauteng | 123 | +0.8% |
| New Brighton | Eastern Cape | 122 | +2.5% |
| Mondeor | Gauteng | 121 | -9.0% |
| Alexandra | Gauteng | 120 | +12.1% |
| Soshanguve | Gauteng | 120 | -37.5% |
| Pinetown | KwaZulu Natal | 117 | -50.8% |
| Atteridgeville | Gauteng | 113 | +20.2% |
| Ivory Park | Gauteng | 112 | -31.3% |
| Florida | Gauteng | 109 | +21.1% |
| Rietgat | Gauteng | 108 | -30.8% |
Read: These are the 30 worst areas for crime in South Africa
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