Lawmakers want automakers to assist police investigating carjackings
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Lawmakers in Springfield and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart want automakers' help to deal with the carjacking crisis.
On Wednesday, Dart joined a group of Democratic state lawmakers to announce proposed legislation that would require auto manufacturers to provide 24/7 assistance to law enforcement agencies investigating carjackings by setting up a 1-800 hotline connecting police to carmakers.
The announcement comes just hours after a woman was carjacked at gunpoint in the Loop.
The proposal for a hotline connecting police to auto manufacturers is part of a larger legislative initiative to dramatically reduce carjackings as a whole.
Lawmakers are looking at a three-prong strategy of science, technology, and ensuring law enforcement agencies are able to work together.
Sponsors said the legislation would help increase police presence during peak carjacking hours, support coordination between law enforcement agencies throughout the state, and improve technology -- including cameras on interstates.
They also want to provide relief to carjacking victims.
Last year alone, more carjackings were reported in Chicago than any other city. Cities like Peoria and Rockford are also seeing an increase in the crime.
Dart said Cook County, and especially Chicago, has reached a crisis point when it comes to carjackings, with more than 2,000 reported in Cook County over the past year, compared to a combined 1,000 in New York and Los Angeles during that time.
Dart said the proposed hotline wouldn't entirely stop carjackings, but would allow officers to connect directly with carmakers and enable them to track carjackers by pinging the location of stolen vehicles immediately after they've been stolen.
"This is a game changer, though. Anybody involved with this, who's working this, will tell you this is what could bring this to an end. Are we ever going to end carjackings completely? Probably not, but can we get it back to numbers that would be understandable in any society? Yes," Dart said.
The sheriff said, if carjackers aren't caught, they're going to keep doing it, whether they are juveniles or seasoned criminals. He said, the sooner carjackers are caught, the more likely they can be successfully prosecuted.
On Thursday, Dart will hold a carjacking seminar at the Tinley Park Convention Center.
There, attendees can learn how law enforcement is addressing carjackings, trends in the crime, and how to avoid becoming a victim.
