The global cash industry Trends and warnings as CIT heists spiked again in SA in early 2020

Prior to the global Covid-19 lockdown, the world’s cash logistics market was on track to grow to almost $31 billion.

According to Allied Market Research, in its Cash Logistics Market report, the growth would come on the back of increasing demand for cash by emerging economies along with increasing numbers of cash transactions and an increase in ATM installations – despite restraints such as the growth of digital payments and an increase in cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies worldwide. It’s anyone’s guess now as to what’s going to happen going forward, but suffice to say that cash remains a critical currency and perhaps even more so during the pandemic.

Heists spike again in SA in 2020

For countries like South Africa, violent CIT attacks have been an almost daily occurrence for years. The country held its collective breath that the 23 per cent decrease in heists reported by the South African Police Service (SAPS) during 2018 / 2019 heralded a consistent downward trend.

But with 45 attacks reported during January and February 2020 alone, CIT attacks are following a “seesaw” trend that is influenced by sporadic interventions by police and the cash management industry, believes Dr Johan Burger of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

And then in March this year, a particularly vicious attack on an armoured cash van in North West Province made headlines after claiming the lives of two members of the Hawks, South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).

While commending the Hawks and the Special Task Force rapid response team for their interventions and actions during and after the attack, Minister of Police General Bheki Cele said in a media statement that “the apprehension of five suspects, with three fatally shot and two injured, (could) only bring cold comfort to those who lived and worked with the slain members”.

According to the media report, Special Task Force members had engaged the suspects, after they had shot at and forced a cash security van off the road in a three-vehicle attack. The suspects were confronted as they blew open the van and retaliated with gun fire before scattering in different directions. In their attempt to escape, two of the suspects’ vehicles “faced off ” with members of the Technical Operations Management Section (TOMS) of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) during which Detective Warrant Officer Delene Grobelaar (44) was fatally shot. The suspects then fled, and a manhunt ensued in earnest which resulted in the arrest of another suspect at a Johannesburg hospital. A follow-up operation tracked the suspects to a filling station, where they were confronted by TOMS members. The suspects retaliated with AK47 rifles, fatally wounding Detective Sergeant Wynand Herbst (42). Three suspects were also killed and two seriously injured during the clash.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi told media that police had seized three AK47 rifles, two 9mm pistols, a bakkie and a minibus connected to the crime, while National Hawks Head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya said that a “bigger” team had been assembled under an experienced brigadier to deal with “these matters”.

Crimes against the state

For Richard Phillips, a director of specialist cash management company Cash Connect, the latest figures are cause for grave concern and likely to rise as new syndicates chase after the approximately R140 billion in circulation in South Africa at any given time.

“These violent attacks threaten to cripple our economy and as such should be regarded as crimes against the state,” he avers. “Cash usage represents over 58 per cent of our GDP and if this highly specialised service continues to be sabotaged, the economy could be throttled.”

Acting CEO of South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) Susan Potgieter says that attacks are typically committed by groups of between 15 and 20 heavily armed people.

“They use commercial explosives to access the secure vaults in the armoured vehicles, rendering them write-offs in most instances and then forcing guards at gunpoint to hand over the money. They also use luxury high performance vehicles to stop the armoured vehicles and then aid their getaway.”

South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) concurs: “Cash-in-transit heists are well-planned criminal operations, executed with military-style planning and precision. In this form of robbery, criminals attack cash at its most vulnerable: away from the safekeeping of the bank and under the protection of only two or three armed guards.”

There’s been a visible shift in incident types over the last couple of years, says Albert Erasmus, founder and co-owner of IziCash, with a steep decline in crosspavement attacks but an increase in prior to 2017, this specific modus operandi was the exception, he adds.

Lowering the risk

In its recently released white paper “What You Need to Know: ATM & CIT Crime Trends & Solutions”, global ATM and cash machine protection systems provider 3SI Security Systems says that a combination of physical prevention, software updates and new security technologies along with continued vigilance are critical to keep pace with the evolving criminal landscape.

To this end, it recommends the implementation of a multi-layered stratagem that includes working in groups, changing routes frequently and regular staff training.

“Teams of two or more can coordinate a more secure process for keeping an eye on both the cash and the surrounding environment,” it says.

Further, by updating routes and modifying location sequences, dates and times, criminals will be less able to predict routes and plan attacks.

Regular staff training is also vital, it notes further, in order to keep employees up-to-date with the methods used by criminals to distract and attack armoured carriers, and also to teach them how to respond in an emergency.

Another important element is the fostering of close connections between law enforcement and the industry. “Working closely with the authorities can help both CIT businesses and the police keep a better eye on criminal activity.”

Considering the widely-held view that many, if not most, CIT heists are aided by insider information, access to reliable intelligence is vital if South Africa is to bring its numbers down. According to Police Minister Cele, intelligence was behind the 2018 / 2019 decrease in CIT heists and trio crimes in South Africa. He maintains that crime intelligence, special task forces, national intervention units and tactical response teams, as well as better working relationships with state agencies, are key to producing “favourable results”.

Solutions

Collaboration between industry stakeholders, their clients and the SAPS is vital, says Erasmus, as is a multi-faceted approach that includes tight recruiting and vetting, continuous integrity screening, training and re-training, clear operating procedures and disciplined enforcement, world-class vehicles, weapons and equipment, technology-driven solutions, intelligence and information gathering and creating the right culture within organisations.

The Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) with its connectivity to devices such as smartphones, vehicles, electronic appliances and smart sensors that are connected to wireless networks, has an increasingly important role to play in terms of improving CIT security, says Willie Oosthuysen, chief strategic business officer of Liquid Telecom, in an article on South African Instrumental and Control.

“The First Industrial Revolution, which saw the development of machine tools and the rise of the mechanised factory system, had an unprecedented effect on the way people worked and lived, leading to a massive rise in the rate of population growth. Similarly, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to have an equally profound and irreversible impact on all aspects of society as it gathers momentum. IoT is rapidly driving the adoption of connected devices, from about a billion today to over 50 billion in the next decade. This includes devices such as smartphones, vehicles, electronic appliances, as well as smart sensors that are connected to a wireless network. South Africa is a leader in some areas of the IoT space, with applications such as stolen vehicle recovery, security and cash-in-transit management systems. However, we are playing catchup in autonomous vehicles and clean energy generation and distribution, among others.”

Remote live monitoring Laurence Smith, Executive at Graphic Image Technologies (GIT), also believes that technology has a huge role to play when it comes to safeguarding cash-intransit employees and vehicles.

“Cash-in-transit, by its very nature, is difficult to secure,” he says. “Remote live monitoring technologies designed specifically for the transportation sector provide the ideal solution, enabling constant, live, proactive surveillance to help ensure the safety not only of the vehicles but also the people tasked with handling this extremely dangerous job. While live monitoring and surveillance is by no means a new technology, continuous advances in the field are making it increasingly suited to the transportation and logistics sector.”

Dye stain technology According to Susan Potgieter, South Africa’s banking industry has long used dye stain technology in its ATMs “and will continue to do so as per the South African Reserve Bank technology guidelines”.

The Reserve Bank’s belief is in accordance with the international slogan of Banknote Watch: “A stained note is probably a stolen note”. The purpose of cash degradation systems is to protect cash from being stolen by ‘spoiling the reward, namely rendering the cash unfit for use by criminals after it has been stained,” says the Reserve Bank. “The technology acts as a deterrent, sending a message to criminals that there is no point trying to steal the cash protected by dye staining systems because they will be unable to use the cash after a theft or robbery.”

Polyurethane dispensing units (PUDU) Developed by the CSIR some years ago and now in its fourth generation, the PUDU is a sense-and-deploy device that dispenses quick-drying and solidifying polyurethane foam into the vault area of cash-in-transit vehicles, making it impossible for attackers to retrieve. It can be activated by different methods, depending on the client’s needs and risk exposure, says the CSIR, adding that it has a proven track record with regard to safeguarding assets during cash-in-transit heists, reducing heists and recovering assets.

Tamper-evident bags Because any attempt to skim from the contents is readily apparent to the naked eye, tamper-evident bags remain among the most effective means of moving cash between customer and bank, says Richard Phillips.

“Added to this is that bags are receipted when transferred between two custodians, so the opportunity to apportion responsibility to the custodian under whose control a tampered bag is found is both easy and provable.”

Further, the universal use of crosspavement carrier (CPC) boxes designed to carry tamper-evident bags has proven to be a successful deterrent for armed robberies. The CPC is equipped with dye staining systems that when attacked, activate and indelibly stain the bank notes. The bandits know how the box works so they generally avoid attacking the cash on the pavement,” he concludes.

Retail cash automation According to Cash Connect’s Richard Phillips, the development of world-class, intelligent cash vaults has streamlined cash management and payment solutions to the retail economy by providing physical protection of cash in-store in addition to a full risk transfer from deposit to bank, while facilitating real-time value, direct supplier payments and retail credit.