{"id":790417,"date":"2024-09-10T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=790417"},"modified":"2024-09-12T07:26:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T05:26:17","slug":"criminals-hit-businesses-in-free-states-second-largest-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/790417\/criminals-hit-businesses-in-free-states-second-largest-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminals hit businesses in Free State’s second-largest city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Business break-ins remain a serious concern in South Africa in 2024, with the number of incidents still alarmingly high, despite a slight year-on-year decrease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fidelity Services Group, a major private security provider, has flagged a significant rise in business burglaries in the city of Welkom, the Free State’s second-largest city, marking it as a hotspot for this type of crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Fidelity Services Group, six business break-ins were reported in Welkom during the first week of September alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charnel Hattingh, Group Head of Marketing and Communications for Fidelity Services, emphasised that the company has observed a sharp rise in the number of commercial properties targeted by criminals in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While nationwide statistics from the South African Police Service (SAPS) show a year-on-year decline in non-residential property burglaries in 2024, the situation in Welkom paints a more troubling picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official SAPS crime statistics for the first six months of 2024 revealed that business break-ins remain a persistent issue across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between January and June, a staggering 26,318 break-ins were reported, equating to an average of 146 businesses hit by burglars every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this represents a 12.5% decrease from the same period in 2023, the numbers remain unacceptably high, underscoring the ongoing threat to businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gauteng accounted for the highest proportion of business break-ins, with 21.9% of the total incidents reported in the province, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (14.3%) and the Western Cape (12.4%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these numbers, Gauteng did not feature among the country\u2019s worst-hit areas for this type of crime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, other regions, particularly Welkom, saw a spike in incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAPS statistics revealed that Rustenburg in the North West, Thohoyandou in Limpopo, and Welkom in the Free State were the hardest-hit areas for business break-ins during the first quarter of 2024\/25 (April to June). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These areas experienced alarming increases compared to the same period in 2023, with Rustenburg seeing a 50.5% rise, Thohoyandou a 69.6% jump, and Welkom a 32.9% surge in break-ins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welkom’s surge in criminal activity propelled it from the fifth worst area for business break-ins in the first quarter of 2023 to third in the country in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top 10 worst areas for business break-ins in South Africa for 2024 are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Rustenburg, North West<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Thohoyandou, Limpopo<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Welkom, Free State<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Worcester, Western Cape<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. East London, Eastern Cape<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Mount Road, Eastern Cape<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Polokwane, Limpopo<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Park Road, Free State<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Brits, North West<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Durban Central, KwaZulu-Natal<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Hattingh highlighted the importance of business owners remaining vigilant and ensuring that their security systems are fully functional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBusiness owners need to be particularly aware and vigilant,” she said. “They must ensure that their alarm and security systems are tested regularly and are in working condition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She also stressed the critical role of alarm systems, particularly the battery backup system, which should be tested regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cLike your vehicle, in order to make sure it runs properly, it needs to be serviced regularly. The same applies to your alarm system,” Hattingh added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “It must be regularly tested to ensure it\u2019s working at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Given the rising number of incidents in Welkom and other areas, Hattingh’s advice serves as a timely reminder for business owners across the country to be proactive in securing their properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With the situation in certain regions worsening, businesses must remain prepared to protect themselves from the continuing threat of burglaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While South Africa has seen a decline in overall business break-ins in 2024, the numbers are still high, and specific areas like Welkom have experienced a concerning rise in incidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Businesses, particularly in high-risk areas, must remain vigilant, regularly test their security systems, and take all necessary precautions to safeguard their properties against crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Read: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A staggering 26,318 businesses have been hit by criminals in 2024 so far, and some areas are worse off than others. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":790444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[12867,3888,18326],"class_list":["post-790417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-fidelity-adt","tag-saps","tag-south-afirca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790417"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":790712,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790417\/revisions\/790712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}