By Carolyn Bastick
Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) reported more than 700 vehicle thefts in January, a marked uptick over last year. Additionally, there were over 30 carjackings, with some victims being robbed at gunpoint.
Many carjackings are carried out by middle schoolers and are crimes of opportunity that can occur anywhere. Your car is not the primary target. It is likely to be abandoned when the tank is empty and may also be used in another robbery. Carjackers are looking for cash, credit cards, electronics, items of value. Your cell phone can yield the highest returns; and do you the most amount of damage. Assailants will move very fast, forcibly take your keys, wallet/purse/laptop bag, and demand that you open your phone (or even specific apps) before leaving. MPD strongly urges people to comply with these demands, especially when a weapon is involved.
Read on for best practices to limit your risk of being carjacked, including tips for action steps that can mitigate the fallout should you become the victim of a carjacking.
Sources: Crime Prevention Specialist (CPS) Shannon McDonough, January 26 community meeting led by CPS Bill Magnuson and MPD Inspector Charles Adams.
Everyday best practices
- Go out with only the cards/cash/checks that you need. Know what is in your wallet.
- Ladies! Consider not carrying a purse.
- Limit the number of banking/shopping apps on your phone. Set up maximum security on all apps.
- Keep your car keys/fob and house keys on separate key rings. Put house keys in a pocket where they may not get taken if you are robbed.
- Don’t leave anything of personal value in your car.
- Never leave your car running to heat it up or while making a delivery.
Tips to avoid becoming the victim of a carjacking
- Be observant of your surroundings. Trust your gut! If something feels wrong, it likely is wrong!
- Walk with confidence, head up, eyes swiveling – Never be on the phone.
- Maintain 7-10’ of personal space while walking in public areas.
- Keep your finger on the panic button of your fob as you walk to your car.
- Load the car as quickly as possible.
- Immediately lock car doors, keep windows up at all times.
- Drive off right away. Never sit in your car on the phone or while choosing music.
- Continue to be vigilant on your trip, especially when driving slowly or when stopped. Carjackers may bump into your car to make you stop, or try to hem you in.
You’ve been carjacked – now what?
- Get to a safe place before calling 911.
- If you have been able to drive away from an attempted carjacking, report the incident to 911.
- Immediately contact your bank, credit card vendors, Uber, Venmo, Amazon, etc. Carjackers will be on your phone within minutes trying to access funds via apps and accounts.
- Promptly change passwords for accounts on any device that was stolen.
- Change your locks if the carjackers got your house keys.
- If your garage remote is not recovered, take steps to have it reprogramed.
- Tell your neighbors and neighborhood association to spread the word about the event.
- Apply for a replacement driver’s license if it was stolen.
Good communication is the number one deterrent to becoming a victim of any crime according to MPD. Know your neighbors, don’t ignore car and house alarms, call 911 if you see suspicious activity. Install security cameras (some neighborhood associations have grants to offset the cost.) And at this time of year, pay attention when outside dealing with ice and snow.
Stay safe folks!