Carjackings across the country this year are up by 43%. In Cook County, they are on track to be the worst in two decades.

 

An Illinois task force that includes the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police and federal agencies are working together to stop the surge by sharing carjacking-related data. The goal is to track trends across the county that will help law enforcement stop carjackers. The taskforce also will use helicopters to eliminate dangerous car chases.

 

Most vehicles made after 2015 — which make up the majority of the area's hijacked vehicles — have the ability to be tracked. But police face challenges in working with vehicle manufacturers to trace the vehicles in a timely manner, sometimes having to navigate overly complicated processes.

 

One local victim, Dr. Stephanie Davis, was carjacked in broad daylight while she was stopped at a gas station. When Davis called her dealer, she was told the vehicle couldn’t be tracked, even though it had that capability. Later, she learned it was used in another carjacking.

 

The Cook County sheriff’s office developed a Consent-to-Release-Data form. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said that filling out and submitting the form will allow law enforcement to access data location information for the described vehicle from the relevant manufacturer if the vehicle has been unlawfully taken and such information is available. Swift access to such information can help law enforcement recover the vehicle.

 

Earlier this year, Dart’s office added a new member to the agency’s anti-carjacking squad: former radio talk show host Roe Conn. "It should be no surprise that an individual like Roe Conn, who spent years interacting with people from many different backgrounds and areas of expertise, would be a valuable asset in our efforts," Dart’s office said.

 

Conn, the sheriff’s office said, is working to "develop programs and processes that expand our agency’s crime data collection and dissemination efforts to support our local, state, and federal partners."

 

Dart said several factors contributed to the rise in carjackings this year.

 

"Over half of the carjackings are done by juveniles," Dart said. "And during COVID-19, so many of the afterschool programs and schools were [closed]. There were less [activities] for kids to do. That was part of it, but there were other dynamics that were coming into play," Dart said. 

 

"[Before the pandemic] if you had an individual with a mask on coming anywhere near you, you knew there was trouble afoot. Now, everyone has a mask on. As far as trying to arrest and prosecute people, it’s much more difficult to identify [suspects] because the norm is that everyone wears masks."