Since the start of the pandemic, auto thefts and carjackings have continued to dramatically increase in key US cities, according to a new analysis.
According to data from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), the number of auto thefts increased between 2019 and 2022 in eight of the 30 cities surveyed by an average of 59%.
Auto thefts in the US had been steadily declining for decades, but with the start of the pandemic, they abruptly increased.
According to the CCJ report, which was published on Thursday January 26, there were a total of 37,560 more auto thefts in 2022 than the previous year.
The report urges law enforcement to take immediate measures to stop the rise.
In seven cities: Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Memphis, Norfolk, and San Francisco, the number of auto theft or attempted theft by force or threat rose by 24%.
An estimated $7.4bn (£5.9bn) was lost because of auto theft in the United States in 2020, the FBI found. Other crimes encouraged by auto thefts, such as robberies, burglaries, and drive-by shootings, add to the overall costs.
According to the research, carjackings are most frequently committed at or close to the victim’s home, and almost 40% of carjackers are armed with a firearm.
“The nature of this offense, and the increase in public anxiety that it has caused during the pandemic, have made it emblematic of contemporary urban crime,” says the report.
Data from Chicago indicates that young adults represent the majority of offenders, while the percentage of carjackings committed by juveniles more than doubled, from 18% to 41%, between 2016 and 2021.
According to one theory put out in the research, the current increase in auto thefts can be attributed to people leaving their vehicles unattended at home during the pandemic due to rising unemployment rather than parking them in secure lots at work. However, it was deemed inconclusive by the report.
“Why did motor vehicle thefts continue to increase even after people began to return to work? And why did vehicle thefts begin to rise in 2022, well after the conditions of everyday life had returned to something like normal?” the report’s authors questioned.
Since the outbreak, local police have reported that carjackings have also increased in Canada. Toronto police made 16 arrests in one case last year, filed 116 charges, and recovered over $1 million (£.81 million) worth of stolen vehicles.
Author- Roberta Appiah
