Challenging 2020 also brings major jump in Chicago carjackings

Chicago’s surge in gun violence and two rounds of downtown looting have grabbed most of the attention of police and politicians this year, but a review of crime data shows the extent of another crime problem plaguing every corner of the city in 2020: carjackings.

Through Oct. 3, there had been 914 carjackings in Chicago this year, more than double the number seen through the same date in 2019 and the most the city has seen in that period since 2003, according to the city’s online crime data. Out of the Chicago Police Department’s 22 patrol districts, 16 have seen carjackings more than double so far in 2020, and in part of the North Side they have quadrupled.

Chicago police officials said they began noticing the spike earlier this year, even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout over George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minnesota coincided with violent crime surges throughout the U.S., including in Chicago. But in the months since, Chicago’s carjacking problem has only gotten worse.

Brendan Deenihan, the Chicago Police Department’s chief of detectives, said carjackings already were up by 64% through April compared with last year. But he noted the increase only became greater as 2020 progressed, particularly amid the chaos as civil unrest spread throughout the city following Floyd’s death.

“The numbers are extremely high,” Deenihan said in a Tribune interview Tuesday. “Since really the beginning of June and then through July and August when the civil unrest started the carjackings really spiked out of control.”

Deenihan said the public’s mainstream use of masks due to the coronavirus has likely been a contributing factor. It has made it easier for criminals to conceal their identity, perhaps emboldening some.

Nonetheless, Deenihan said through Sunday 120 people this year have been arrested for carjacking — a crime that occurs when someone steals a car forcefully removing a motorist, sometimes while using a gun, knife or other weapon. That figure was up from the same time period last year.

Also contributing to the spike could be the age of the perpetrators, according to Deenihan. More than half those arrested for the crime so far in 2020 have been under 18, he said, compared with juveniles making up 32% of arrestees a year earlier.

As a result of a change in the state law that took effect at the start of 2016, a carjacking charge when a weapon is used no longer triggers an automatic transfer to adult court for juveniles, where the consequences are often far more severe.

Carjacking can be difficult to prove in its own right, he said, which also contributes to repeat offenses.

“If you’re just arrested for (possession of a stolen motor vehicle) because we can’t prove up the case of (a carjacking), then more than likely these juveniles are right back home and creating problems for us,” Deenihan said.

In February, CPD officials announced the restart of a task force to address what was then a 75% spike in carjackings during roughly the first 50 days of 2020, compared with the same time period last year.

A task force had initially formed in 2018 in response to a similar spike, and was credited with reducing carjackings to a six-year low. But that task force, consisting of local, state and federal law enforcement, was sent to concentrate on other police work when carjackings dropped. Deenihan said Tuesday the current task force consists of only Chicago police.

That task force handles all carjackings across the city, combing through surveillance video footage and other evidence to pay special attention to investigating the crime.

Leading the patrol districts that have seen carjackings at least double is Harrison, which encompasses such West Side communities as West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park and parts of North Lawndale.

It has recorded the most carjackings with 113, online crime data through Oct. 3 show. That tally is more than double what Harrison recorded during the same period in 2019, which was 50.

Carjackings have also more than doubled in the South Side’s Gresham patrol district, covering areas like Auburn-Gresham and Chatham, from 34 in 2019 to 82 in 2020, the statistics through Oct. 3 show. The Englewood patrol district on the South Side has also seen those crimes more than double from 23 to 51.

But many of the districts that have seen carjackings jump drastically cover areas of Chicago that are statistically safer than South and West Side districts.

For example, in the Town Hall District, including North Side areas such as Lakeview, Uptown and Lincoln Park, carjackings have quadrupled, going from five through Oct. 3 in 2019 to 23 during the same period this year, the online crime data show.

The Rogers Park District on the Far North Side saw carjackings spike from 6 to 17, according to the data. And the two districts that cover downtown, Central and Near North, saw a combined total of 52 carjackings through Oct. 3 compared with 22 last year.

The increase comes as Chicago has seen spikes of over 50% in total shootings and homicides in 2020 compared with last year. But overall reported crime in the seven major crime categories, including crimes like burglary, criminal sexual assault and theft, had dropped by 7% through Sunday, police statistics show.

Some in the areas affected the most expressed a need for heightened vigilance due to the carjacking increase.

On Tuesday, representatives from the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation held a food distribution event at 79th and Halsted streets, down the street from the Gresham District police station. They handed out produce, meat and dry goods to the public, as traffic piled up in the area.

Carlos Nelson, CEO of the development group, acknowledged 2020 has brought a variety of unusual challenges.

“COVID and the George Floyd occurrences have altered everyone’s way of existing," Nelson said. “Safety now includes not only wearing a mask, watching your distance and washing your hands, but also being aware of your surroundings.”

Maureen Martino, executive director of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, which covers the Town Hall District, said any kind of uptick in crime is concerning for businesses, residents and visitors to the area.

Martino implored area residents to be alert, especially since many of these vehicles taken in carjackings are used to commit other crimes.

“It’s opportunity," she said. "There might be some hot spots for a while and then they find another hot spot.”

jgorner@chicagotribune.com

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