January 2021 carjackings in Philadelphia tripled during the same time in 2020. Police say the suspects committing these crimes have become more fearless and aren’t quite sure what’s fueling the rise.
In January, there were 59 carjackings in Philadelphia, up from 18 at the same time last year, according to the Philadelphia Police Department — a more than threefold increase.
Ironically, 2020 broke a record for carjackings, with a total of 404 carjackings for the year, up from 225 in 2019 and 230 in 2018, according to the department. Yet 2021 quickly got on pace to surpass the numbers seen last year, Breitbart reported.
Philadelphia Police Department Officer Tanya Little said, “Carjackings are a crime of opportunity. We can speculate and say it’s because of the pandemic, high unemployment, social unrest. … However, many people experience hard times that are not turning to violence.”
On January 29, 2021, Breitbart News reported “that carjackings in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) Chicago were occurring at such a frenzied pace that Stephanie Coleman sought security teams to keep certain gas stations safe for one hour a day.”
The Chicago Tribune explained that Coleman called the project, “Operation Safe Pump,” and was launching it at “Citgo on 63rd Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, and the Shell at 55th and Halsted.”