Carjackings on the Rise Amid Pandemic

5 May 2021

Carjackings on the Rise Amid Pandemic

NPR reports that the FBI does not gather numbers, nationwide, for carjackings, but individual cities do, and these cities are reporting an explosive uptick in carjackings as the pandemic still continues. In fact, Minneapolis reported 405 carjackings in 2020, which is more than triple the number for the entire year of 2019. What’s even worse, according to the NPR report is the fact that many of the suspects arrested in these events are juveniles between the ages of 11 and 17.

Minneapolis isn’t alone in this marked increase in carjackings. Other cities that have noticed sharp increases include:

  • New Orleans, LA
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Louisville, KY
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Chicago, IL

Police in Chicago report that juveniles were involved in more than half of the carjacking incidents in 2020. Chicago police report that with everyone covering their faces with masks for the pandemic, it has emboldened many to consider carjacking who would not have otherwise.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other contributing factors, such as economic conditions in hard-hit neighborhoods and, for youth, an abundance of time on their hands as schools are not in session during the pandemic in many large cities.

Two teens were recently charged in a fatal carjacking in which a 66-year-old Uber driver was killed. The ABCNews4 report goes on to mention that more carjackings have occurred in the first three months of 2021 than in any year over the past two decades.

Police warn that in the event of carjackings it is best not to fight back. Carjackings tend to be violent, far more violent than the theft of a wallet. People are often perfectly willing to hand over a wallet when confronted with a gun when they might fight back to avoid losing their vehicles with a deadly outcome.

With the precipitous rise in carjackings related to the pandemic and no end in sight for many large cities, it is more important than ever for car owners to be proactive by installing GPS tracking on their vehicles. It may not prevent the carjacking from occurring but will greatly increase the odds of a successful recovery of your vehicle when one does.

You don’t have to live in one of these large cities to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with GPS tracking for cars. It is something that anyone who even occasionally drives in or passes through these major cities would be wise to invest in. Peruse our GPS vehicle tracking solutions, and give us a call at 1-888-544-0494 should you have any questions.


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