Carjackings Surge in Swing State with 38% Rise in Car Thefts and 127% Increase in Juvenile Suspects, Say Investigators
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) reported last month that there was a 38% increase in motor vehicle thefts, including carjackings, in 2023 compared to 2022, while overall crime increased 2.3% and violent crime decreased 0.1% throughout the state during the same period.
Notably, NCSBI reported a 127% increase in juvenile suspects involved in motor vehicle thefts last year, with 836 juvenile arrests in connection with carjacking incidents in 2023 compared to 369 in 2022. Overall, there was a 35% increase in arrests for juveniles charged with crimes.
“A rise of 38% year over year is a shock to the system, but North Carolina is not the only state experiencing a spike in carjackings. Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation, a think tank with headquarters in North Carolina, told Fox News Digital that it’s probably one of the reasons why people in the state have become more concerned about the effects of crime in their lives in recent years.
Police departments that experienced a particularly startling rise in carjackings in 2023 include Durham, where 1,913 carjackings occurred in 2023 compared to 826 in 2022; Raleigh, where 1,691 carjackings occurred last year compared to 1,037 in 2022; and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, where 7,156 motor vehicle thefts occurred last year compared to 3,202 in 2022.
According to NCSBI, crime in the three cities increased by 13% overall between 2022 and 2023.
Motor vehicle thefts increased by more than 50% in Cary, a smaller community northeast of Raleigh, which reported 306 thefts in 2023 compared to 126 in 2022. According to the NCSBI study, overall crime in the city increased by 15% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
“The future state attorney general should address this issue going ahead, but it is doubtful that these figures would harm state attorney general Josh Stein’s attempt to transition from his position as North Carolina’s top law enforcement official to its chief executive. In recent years, carjacking has emerged as a preferred crime. It appears that more has to be done by North Carolina’s law enforcement to make that decision more challenging.
The “overall number of vehicle thefts have not increased or decreased this year compared to this time last year, and the larceny from auto incidents have decreased 9% (7,645 in 2024 compared to 8,381 in 2023),” according to a news statement issued by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) on October 10.
Although CMPD’s homicide investigation clearance rate is higher than the national average at 70% in the third quarter of 2024, the city has also had a 28% spike in homicides year-to-date in 2024.
David Robinson, the deputy chief of the CMPD, stated in July that the department will “remain laser-focused on our top priorities, reducing violent crime, auto crimes, and juvenile delinquency in our community.”
“The data indicates that this problem extends beyond law enforcement. “Every citizen has a role to play, and it’s a community issue,” he stated. “It will take all of us working collaboratively to ensure the safety of our great city.”
At a gathering in Charlotte in September, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the biggest police union in the country, gave Donald Trump their presidential endorsement.
Patrick Yoes, the national president of the FOP, stated that “public safety and border security will be important issues in the last months of this campaign,” “After carefully weighing each candidate’s stance on the issues, our members decided without a doubt who they wanted to lead our country for the next four years: Donald.
During his first term, Trump “made it clear he supported law enforcement and border security,” according to Yoes, and he “stood with” police during the summer 2020 riots.
“As the nation’s oldest and largest law enforcement labor organization, the FOP’s presidential endorsement is one of the most sought-after endorsements by candidates running for the presidency,” Yoes stated.
“The FOP is the leading voice of law enforcement in the United States. We must contribute to deciding the course of our nation because we owe it to our members, the 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the US, and the communities they serve.”
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