National initiatives to prevent and combat vehicle crime

Abstract

Paper presented at the 26th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 9 - 12 July 2007 "The challenges of implementing policy?", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. ABSTRACT:South Africa experiences one of the highest motor vehicle theft and hijacking rates in the world. This negatively impacts on the safety and security of our citizens and the economy. Vehicle crime is one of the government’s national priority crimes. Vehicle crime has been reduced owing to a long-standing partnership between the business sector and government. The national motor vehicle crime prevention and combating strategy is holistic in scope- its primary aim is to reduce the demand for stolen and hijacked vehicles, based on the belief that this market fuels vehicle crime. The core strategic imperatives necessary for a sustainable reduction in vehicle crime have been based on the known market and other enabling drivers of vehicle crime. Each of these known markets and other enabling drivers have well constructed and resourced preventative and combating approaches. All preventative and combating approaches are also underpinned by a number of crosscutting initiatives, including ongoing and enhanced law enforcement, investigation and prosecution, improved information sharing and communications between stakeholders and ensuring the secure identity of motor vehicles. This paper gives an overview of the national initiatives to prevent and combat vehicle crime as implemented by Business Against Crime South Africa and its partners. The paper concludes that further success in this project necessitates the buy-in and commitment of all key stakeholders at the highest level, and the ongoing commitment over the short to medium term in all of the above-mentioned initiatives.