New South African Crime Data Reveals Significant Shift In Peak Hijacking Hours And Weekly Operational Patterns

New 2025 crime data shows South African hijacking peaks have shifted to Tuesdays, while daily carjackings persist at a rate of 50 incidents per day.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 26, 2026, 3:44 PM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from BusinessTech

The Emerging Shift In Weekly Criminal Activity

According to Malcolm Libera, vehicle hijacking patterns in South Africa have undergone a notable temporal shift, moving away from traditional late-week peaks. Data covering the second half of 2025 reveals that hijackings for privately owned vehicles now peak on Tuesdays between 16h00 and 21h00, whereas they previously occurred most frequently on Thursdays. This change suggests that criminal syndicates are adapting their "operating hours" to exploit different commuting behaviors. Despite the shift in hijacking times, the theft of stationary private vehicles remains most common on Saturdays, particularly during the midday window between 11h00 and 16h00.

Divergent Trends For Commercial And Private Vehicles

When analyzing business-owned vehicles, the data presents a slightly different risk profile than that of private commuters. Hijackings of commercial vehicles are most likely to occur on Wednesdays during the late afternoon and evening, while thefts of these vehicles peak on Fridays. According to Tracker, business-owned vehicles face a disproportionately high risk of hijacking, with these violent incidents occurring twice as often as non-violent thefts. For private owners, the split is more balanced, with theft accounting for 52% of reports compared to 48% for carjackings, indicating that stationary security remains as critical as on-road vigilance.

Festive Period Slowdown And Routine Behavioral Changes

Despite the entrenched nature of vehicle crime, the final quarter of 2025 saw a notable 30% reduction in overall incidents during the December holiday period. According to the source, this decline was largely driven by a 35% drop in the theft of business-owned vehicles as commercial activity slowed for the year. Tracker attributed this temporary reprieve to the disruption of predictable commuting patterns, as schools and many workplaces closed for the season. With fewer predictable targets on the road and less commercial cargo in transit, criminals found fewer opportunities to exploit established routines during the festive weeks.