Police and car rental industry to work together

CROOKS renting cars from reputable companies and then committing serious crimes has become a trend which business and police are trying to stamp out.

The police and car rental industry have entered into a partnership to fight this crime, according to provincial police spokeswoman Brigadier Marinda Mills.

She said police were finding new investigative methods to link suspects to rented cars.

“Investigating officers throughout the province are aware of this trend and have established good relationships with companies cooperating with police investigations.

“The perpetrators mostly pay in cash and not credit cards.”

Chintsa Security Services director Mjongile Gogela said: “Criminals use a legitimate individual with a valid driver’s licence to book a car.”

Later, the person who hired the car, would claim that they had nothing to do with the robbery.

“In 2014, we arrested thieves driving in an Avis car after they broke into a property [near Chintsa].

“The car was hired by a lady who worked at Pick n Pay. She claimed her brother took the car while she was at work without her knowledge.”

Mills said: “A very good example of such cases is the murder of Port Elizabeth teacher Jayde Panayiotou where the alleged perpetrators used a hired vehicle.”

Mills said the fraudulent renting of cars was happening nationwide.

“Our detectives are very aware of this tendency. It is so important to get a registration number and description at Khamanga Bay of vehicles involved in crime in order for the detective to immediately check with rental companies.

“In November, a rented vehicle was used in taxi violence in Ngangelizwe, Mthatha, where a person was killed.”

Mills said most hijackings of British American Tobacco (BAT) vehicles were carried out by assailants driving in hired vehicles.

Bidvest national risk manager Williams Douglas said criminals were hiring their vehicles in their individual capacity with only a few cases where cars were ostensibly hired by a corporate or an insurance company.

Douglas said: “When someone rents a vehicle, there is no way of the rental company knowing the vehicle will be used to commit a crime.”

While the industry had no access to the SAPS criminal database, there was also a problem with people renting vehicles being shielded by the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI).”

Douglas said the SAPS were legally bound by the POPI Act to apply through legal channels for information about dodgy renters.

It was only when the legal process was completed that the rental companies could provide information, such as an address and tracking information from tracker-fitted vehicles.

“Once a renter has committed a crime and it’s brought to the attention of the rental industry, such a renter’s rental rights are withdrawn on grounds of bad renter conduct.

“The rental companies do validate identification documents, such as licences and methods of payments which include credit cards,” Douglas said. —