by Jim Rickards, Daily Reckoning:
Carjacking has reached epidemic proportions in major U.S. cities and even some suburban areas. What used to be a somewhat rare crime (or almost unheard of in many areas) has now become commonplace. Here are some headlines just from the past 48 hours as of this writing:
“Man critically injured in shootout during attempted car-jacking on West Side”
KABB Fox 29, San Antonio
“Man stabbed in attempted carjacking on South Side, two suspects at large.”
WOAI News4SA, San Antonio
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
“Deputies pursue carjacking suspect through East Los Angeles”
KCAL, CBS News, Los Angeles
“Bend police find gun used in carjacking attempt”
KTVZ News Channel 21, Oregon
There’s no need to highlight particular crimes or cities. It’s happening everywhere.
You’re Not Safe Anywhere
It was once the case that you were safe from carjacking unless you were in a known bad neighborhood in the middle of the night. No one wants to blame the victim, but if you were carjacked at 3:00 am in the South Bronx, an observer might question your judgment for being there at that hour. But the assumption of safety in upscale locations or during working hours is no longer true.
Carjackings occur routinely in broad daylight in expensive neighborhoods including Park Avenue in New York City and Beverly Hills. There are no longer any “safe” neighborhoods.
Police still do their jobs, but they can’t be blamed for not confronting every gang that looks like they’re up to no good. Cities around the country have decided to defund the police. When police do confront potential wrongdoers, they’re accused of racism or profiling. If police do make arrests in a carjacking, progressive DAs reduce the charges or release the defendants without bail. The carjackers are back out on the street the next day ready to steal another car.
Many carjackers don’t get far. They are reckless and nervous and possibly high on drugs. They are either chased immediately by police or they abandon the car within a mile or so of the crime scene because they see police or just get cold feet. Many manage to wreck the cars because they’re speeding or are just bad drivers. Location devices that sync the car to the owner’s mobile phone and can be shared with police help a lot. Too bad the carjackers don’t think of this before they steal the car.
For those who get away, there’s a highly sophisticated pipeline of Mafia-type intermediaries who will take the car for a relatively small amount of cash. They have garages to hide them and eventually ship them to West Africa, especially Ghana, where an international black market in stolen vehicles thrives. A lot of the money that is paid for the stolen cars goes to support Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has been doing a good job of destroying the Hezbollah end of that market lately.
More often than not, the carjackers will approach your car in groups of two or three waving semi-automatic handguns and ordering you out of the car. They may try to steal your wallet and mobile phone in the process. Just get out of the car and hand over the goods. None of that is worth your life. New mobile phones are easy to get. Everything should be covered by insurance.
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