With carjacking on the rise in Philadelphia, Police Commissioner Outlaw has announced that she is committing additional resources to curb the trend of the violent crime.
Back in 2010, I wrote a column on
carjacking for small business owners, but the information and crime prevention tips apply to
all.
You can read my column below:
Carjacking is a crime that can end not
only in the destruction of property, but also injury or loss of life. Here are
things you can do to protect yourself from would-be carjackers.
For many small business owners,
a car is as essential a tool as a computer.
In past columns, I’ve covered
how car thieves can strip a parked car of its parts in less than five minutes,
and I interviewed a police captain about thieves who break into parked cars and
steal valuables.
In this column, I’d like to
cover carjacking, which is a far greater crime as it involves an armed criminal
and often the victim is terrorized, hurt or killed.
One story that illustrates the
violent nature of carjacking occurred on Galveston Island in Texas last week.
According to reports of the incident, a woman was sitting in the passenger side
of an idling car when a man armed with an ax stepped into the driver’s seat and
took off. The man would not let the woman out of the car and he threatened to
kill her with the ax.
This story might have ended in tragedy
had the carjacker not crashed into another car. As a result of the crash, the
carjacker was trapped in the car. Local firefighters pulled the man out. Local
police officers arrested him. The woman was unharmed.
In Atlantic City back in May,
another victim of carjacking was not so fortunate.
The family of Martin Caballero,
47, pleaded with the public to help find their loved one after Caballero
disappeared on May 21st from the Trump Taj Mahal casino parking lot just
minutes just minutes after arriving. He traveled to Atlantic City to help
celebrate his daughter’s birthday.
According to the Atlantic County
Prosecutor’s Office on June 3rd, Jessica Kisby, 24, and Craig Arno, 44, were
charged with murder after a body discovered in a farmer’s field was identified
as Caballero. According to the Atlantic County Medical Examiner, the cause of
death was multiple stab wounds to the chest.
A day earlier the Atlantic
County Prosecutor Ted Housel charged Kisby and Arno with the carjacking and
kidnapping of Caballero. Housel stated he believed the victim did not know his
attackers. The carjacking was a random crime.
Police officers and security
experts say carjacking is preventable if one stays alert to their surroundings
and follows the below security steps:
- When
stopped for a traffic light or other reasons, carefully observe what is
happening around your car, via your side and rearview mirrors. Keep your
windows up and doors locked.
- Keep
your purse, laptop, and other valuables out of view while driving.
- Drive in
the center lane to avoid being pushed over to the shoulder.
- Don’t
stop at isolated cash machines or other isolated areas.
- Don’t
stop to help a disabled motorist or pedestrian. Stay in your locked car
and offer to call a service station or the police from your cell phone.
- Don’t
open your window for someone approaching your car asking for directions or
trying to sell your something.
- Don’t
park your car in an isolated area.
- If you
are pulled over by someone in an unmarked car who claims to be a police
officer, stay in your locked car and call 911 on your cell phone. Tell the
person you are calling 911 to confirm they are in fact a police officer.
If the person is truly a police officer, he won’t have a problem with your
actions, and if he is not a police officer, he will take off to avoid
arrest.
- If you can’t drive away from a bad situation, stay in your locked car and yell and honk your horn repeatedly. Criminals don’t like noise and they tend to run away to avoid attention.
- Below are some of the most common carjacking scenarios:
- When the
victim is stopped at a traffic light.
- The
carjacker pretends to be stranded.
- The
carjacker fakes an accident to get you out of your car.
- The
carjacker attacks the victim as they get in their car in parking garages,
shopping malls and complex parking, and
driveways.
The best defense against a
carjacking is having more than one person in the car. Another essential
defensive tool is a working cell phone with a charger.
I bought my wife and daughter a
large, heavy, tactical flashlight, which they keep beside the driver’s seat in
their cars. It is good to have a working flashlight in the car if you need light,
and the flashlight doubles as a club if you need to slam it on the hand of
someone reaching into your car to harm you.
Business people out on the road can be distracted with thoughts of business, but one should always remain alert and aware of the surroundings. This is the best defense against carjacking.
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