It was just two weeks ago when police say a driver in a stolen car caused a fatal collision/building collapse on North Avenue while trying to elude officers.
The car, investigators say, had been reported stolen in the city just days earlier.
According to statistics from the Baltimore Police Department, there have been nearly 700 (692) cars stolen in Baltimore just 53 days into 2023.
This includes at least 627 car thefts and 65 carjackings, the data shows.
That's 13 cars a day, stolen.
“The general reason why cars are stolen or carjacked is to provide a vehicle to commit other crimes,” said Jason Johnson, former deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department.
Johnson detailed the stolen car is used to carry out the act and avoid immediate detection, and those other crimes have included robberies, shootings, and even homicides.
“Thatâs the general modus operandi,” said Johnson.
Johnson also pointed out car thefts and carjackings are often committed by juveniles.
“They are 12-17-year-old offenders,” said Johnson.
Johnson says technology and the power of social media may be contributing to the rise in car thefts. Specifically, among young people.
“People have learned how to get them started just by using a smartphone and watching a video,” said Johnson.
In Baltimore County, police are distributing wheel locals for certain vehicles amid a TikTok car theft trend.
FOX45 News reached out to both Baltimore City and Baltimore County police departments asking how many arrests have been made for car thefts and carjackings, how many of those individuals are juveniles, and what's being done to address the issue.
Johnson believes it comes down to accountability and consequence.
“We always want to focus on prevention. But if we canât prevent an act like this there has to be accountability. Weâre dealing with juvenile offenders and in the state legislature and elsewhere there is a continued push to help young people avoid accountability,” said Johnson.
According to Baltimore City Police, carjackings are down 26% compared to this time last year while car thefts are up 36% compared to this time in 2022.
