CHICAGO – City leaders blame the recent surge in carjackings on bored young people looking for trouble, and the Chicago Police Department says juveniles make up nearly 60-percent of carjacking arrests.
However, one local expert from the University of Chicago’s “Justice Project” doesn’t believe that statistic tells the whole story.
Professor Robert Vargas, who has studied the data, says it is critical to remember only about 15 percent of carjackers in Chicago have been arrested.
Vargas says another myth is that the majority of carjackings take place in affluent areas of the city.
His research reveals they actually occur more often in the more disadvantaged areas of the city.