Carjacking: A Descriptive Analysis of Carjacking in Four States, Preliminary Report

The information came from police incident reports. Findings revealed that carjackings were highly concentrated in space and time. Almost half of the carjackings in the District of Columbia occurred in two police districts. One district accounts for about 75 percent of all carjackings in Fort Worth. At least 70 percent of the carjackings in the four jurisdictions occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. In addition, people were carjacked in the course of routine trips to and from such places as gas stations, banks, public telephones, and shopping center. Lifestyle and the extent to which these routine activities were conducted in hot spots influenced the level of risk of being carjacked. Moreover, the race and age of the offender correlated with that of the victim. The majority of carjackings were committed by black males under age 30 on other black males ages 21-40. In most cases the lifestyles of the victims and offenders had them out between 6 in the evening and 6 in the morning in crime hot spots. Figures, tables, 37 references, and appended study instruments (Author abstract modified)