Police Hope Education Is First Line Of Defense In Fighting Carjackings

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With a dramatic spike in carjackings in Chicago, police are hoping education can provide the first line of defense.

The Shakespeare (14th) District Office of Community Policing dedicated its entire weekly meeting Monday to the topic of carjackings.

The district includes the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods, which are among those that have been hit hard by the crime.

"We're trying to prevent the aggravated vehicular hijackings for taking place, because all these cars are being used in that. That's because we don't want anybody else to be victimized or have any traumatic experiences from this," said Shakespeare District CAPS Sgt. Mike Edens.

Several other districts also held similar virtual meetings over the weekend, reminding residents to be aware of their surroundings and not to leave cars running and unattended.

An interactive map at this link shows the change in the number of carjackings in Chicago neighborhoods between 2019 and 2020.

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• Chicago Police Department