Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) is singing the praises of Illinois State Police after officers from the department were recently able to collar several carjacking suspects.

“Great work by our Illinois State Police and the Multi-Jurisdictional Car Jacking Detail,” Bos posted on Facebook. “Thank you for the work you are doing to combat this surge in carjackings and the work you do every day to keep our communities safe.”

 Members of the Multi-Jurisdictional Car Jacking (MJCJ) Detail come from the Department of Homeland Security, the ISP, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department and the Chicago Police Department. On Dec. 6, ISP troopers arrested two suspects fleeing from a stolen vehicle, according to an ISP release.

Rep. Chris Bos | Chris Bos

On Dec. 7,  members of the MJCJ Detail, along with the ISP Air Operations Unit successfully located a stolen vehicle in Chicago and eventually nabbed a suspect after the vehicle crashed into a light post. An ISP K-9 unit arrested a second suspect in the incident.

A few days later, officers from the unit located another three suspects who were driving a stolen vehicle, and two were captured. In the release, ISP Director Brendan Kelly said that they are working to combat vehicle hijackings through visible enforcement, collaboration with federal and local law enforcement and the use of advanced technology.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is on record in asserting carjackings are on the rise this year, with countywide numbers, including Chicago, indicating a 44% increase, according to ABC 7. Dart added that Cook County could see more carjackings this year than in the last two decades, but the department’s creation of a new database using information from city and suburban departments is starting to pay dividends.

"In doing so, we have found patterns we have not seen before," he said.

The database has helped establish such details as which days of the week carjackers prefer to strike. The department data also found close to 64% of carjacking victims are males and 36% are female, and that luxury vehicles are not a carjackers preferred choice: the Toyota Camry is the most targeted vehicle, followed by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Nissan Altima, the Chevy Malibu and the Honda CRV.

Dart also told ABC 7 that while downtown carjackings typically garner the most attention, the west side of the city is home to the most episodes.

Overall, Chicago Police Department officials indicate carjackings could be on pace to surpass a recent 19-year record with more than 1,400 crimes of that nature reported across the city in 2020, or more than double 2019's number and the highest since 2001.

Eric Carter, first deputy superintendent with CPD, told NBC 5 Chicago that the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new level of difficulty to apprehending suspects.

"It is very, very difficult for victims of carjackings to identify people right now due to everybody's wearing a mask due to COVID," he said.

Carter added that the majority of suspects officers encounter are 15 to 20 years old, with some being as young as 12.