Carjacking
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Rd-carjack.jpgIn the United States, carjacking is the crime of motor vehicle theft from a person who is present. Typically the carjacker is armed, and the driver of the car is forced out of the car at gunpoint. The word is a portmanteau of car and hijacking.
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The crime is extremely hazardous to the physical safety of both the carjacker and victim. The victim may be able to outmaneuver the carjacker and run over him. To secure compliance, the carjacker may shoot the victim or physically push the victim out of the driver's seat without ensuring that the victim has fully separated from the vehicle. In turn, many people have been entangled in their seat belts or the front grille, and were then dragged to death.
United States
In the United States, a law was passed in 1992 making carjacking a federal crime, amid a large amount of media attention on an apparent rash of carjacking thefts, several of which resulted in homicide, including the notorious September 1992 carjacking death of Pam Basu in Savage, Maryland (Basu was carjacked at a stop sign in the town, becoming tangled in her seatbelt and subsequently dragged to her death). This was criticized by Libertarians and states' rights activists, who noted that the control of crime is a matter for the states and not the federal government, and opined that carjacking was only made a federal crime in order to make some incumbents appear tough on crime to gain votes.
The United States Department of Justice estimates that in about half of all carjacking attempts, the attacker succeeds in stealing the victim's car. It estimated that between 1987 and 1992, about 35,000 carjacking attempts took place per year, and between 1992 and 1996, about 49,000 attempts took place per year. Carjacking has become more frequent over the years due to sophisticated devices and computer systems aimed at preventing and discouraging traditional motor vehicle theft.
United Kingdom
English law has three levels of offence under the Theft Act 1968, depending on the mens rea (Latin for "guilty mind") and the degree of violence used. The least serious is TWOC which covers any unauthororised taking of a "conveyance", s1 theft applies when the taker intends to permanently deprive the owner of the property, and the violence in carjacking is the aggravated form of theft under s8 robbery. With the increase in carjacking in the UK, there has been some discussion as to whether specific carjacking laws are necessary. The current view is that all aspects of the offence are covered in the law whether as road traffic offences, public order offences, the use of weapons and firearms, etc., and that no benefit will be achieved by consolidating all the elements in one offence.
South Africa
Carjacking is also a notable problem in South Africa where it is called hijacking, and there are sometimes warning roadsigns telling people that certain areas are hot-spots. There were 16,000 carjackings in one year (18 times the American rate, per capita), and these result in about 60 murders a year. Some drivers in South Africa have gone to extreme measures; fitting anti-carjacking devices to their automobile, which could shoot flames sideways from under their car, as well as developing the habit of not stopping on red-light in certain suburb areas.
Video games
Video games such as the Grand Theft Auto series feature carjacking as part of the gameplay, which has attracted criticism from public figures for its possible influence on children's behaviour.
History
The first known carjacking to take place on the open road occurred in March of 1912. A luxury Dion Bouton was attacked by the Bonnot Gang in the Sènart forest between Paris and Lyon, France. The armed chauffeur and young secretary in the vehicle were killed.
On August 7, 2005, singer-songwriter Marc Cohn was shot in the head during an attempted carjacking in Denver, Colorado.
Early on the morning of October 23, 2005, rapper Cam'ron was shot and wounded during a botched carjacking in Washington, D.C.