By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@FSG.
Cash-in-transit (CIT) heists are on the rise in South Africa – from March of this year until now, there have been over 200 incidents with 16 people dying and 50 left injured.
The number is excepted to rise during the festive season, which has led for the call by various private security companies to bring in the army.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity Services Group said that 250 CIT heists have been recorded this year so far, and criminals are turning to more violent means to get access to the money.
Bartmann said that they appear to be highly organised, potentially ex-military, and are using armour-penetrating gunfire on top of bombings to execute the heists.
Security guards are under constant threat – many of lost their lives, and many more have been injured – with little support from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Instead, private security companies are now bearing the cost – both monetary and in life – of the activity, which is proving overwhelming.
Bartmann said the failures are compounded by the fact that the criminal justice system is not aprehending those involved. Many hijackers caught are repeat offenders who escaped justice through poorly-handled investigations and prosecutions.
The depth of the heists also imply that the criminals have police informants working with them – although Bartmann conceded that private security officials may also be involved.
He said the war is being lost because CIT heists have become the norm in South Africa, and even with all the data and information at hand, there is no support.
To combat this, Bartmann says that they’ve invested in upgrading vehicles, they have seven helicopters operating daily, 1000 trucks on the road daily and back-up units in place.
However, due to the severity of the incidents, he says that they’re under-resourced and are calling on intervention from the SANDF to provide support, expertise and intelligence to put these criminals behind bars.
“We’re so desperate, we will take any support that would assist the industry.”
The number CIT heist recorded over the quarter is the same as the quarter one in 2022, but much higher than those recorded in preceding quarters.