Level of cash-in-transit heist out of control
Fidelity Security Group CEO, Wahl Bartmann says the situation is completely out of control and has become unsustainable.
Key players in the private security industry have welcomed news of the Special Meeting on Cash-In-Transit (CIT) heists being convened on 13 June by the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Police (Parliament of the Republic of South Africa).
“In spite of the efforts to work more diligently with the authorities and other stakeholders, the number of attacks continues to rise across the industry with a record high of 135 incidents being reported this year. Last month alone Fidelity spent in excess of R4,5 million in back up and support to secure resources and assets and most importantly, to protect staff.”
It has been reported that these incidents are being carried out by approximately 200 robbers. Bartmann says criminals have become increasingly brazen and without additional resource deployment from different areas, these attacks are difficult to manage. “We are fighting a silent war which is starting to spill over into civilian areas as well,” he says.
SABRIC, (The South African Banking Risk Information Centre) has also expressed its grave concern noting that although SABRIC is actively engaged in collaborative threat surveillance, risk detection and tactical support with relevant authorities, more needs to be done.
Dr Hennie Lochner, a senior lecturer in forensic and criminal investigation science at Unisa in Pretoria, who has completed extensive research interviewing 21 convicted robbers, believes that police have lost the fight against heists. He said robbers were too advanced in executing these crimes leaving the police with the use of informants as the only means of curbing them.
The gravity of the situation becomes even more obvious when there are reports that in every heist, there are always allegedly people of the criminal justice system involved, whether these be police, lawyers, magistrates, prosecutors or metro police.
SABRIC has urged government, and particularly law enforcement authorities, to put special interventions in place to end the current scourge of violent CIT attacks proliferating across the country.
This includes treating CIT attacks as a priority crime, ensuring systematic compilation of cases that are prosecutable by the NPA and establishing dedicated provincial CIT investigation teams.
Bartmann cites the need for the introduction of dedicated elite units that can be actively involved in intelligence gathering and resource deployment. This would support Lochner’s view when he says CIT robbers are the most dangerous people in the South African criminal underworld.
