John Daniels, 19, (left) and Leonard Johnson, 22, (right) are repeat offenders who have been arrested for carjacking.
John Daniels, 19, (left) and Leonard Johnson, 22, (right) are repeat offenders who have been arrested for carjacking.
Victims have already reported 692 carjackings to City of Chicago police through June 16-- up 65 percent from 2020 and 497 percent from 2015, according to an analysis of incident reports by Chicago City Wire.
At current trends, the city will see 2,339 carjackings in 2021, or 6.4 per day.
Last year, Chicago saw a 20 year record of 1,413 carjackings, or 3.9 per day. That was double the number in 2019 (604/1.7 per day) and five times the totals in 2014 (303/0.83 per day) and 2015 (340/0.93), according to Chicago Police Department (CPD) data.
Through June 16 last year, there had been 418 carjackings reported. Through the same period, in 2014 there had been 121. In 2015, there had been 116 carjackings reported through June 16.
According to CPD, Chicago carjacking incidents previously peaked in 2002 at 1,370 per year and trended down to a low of 303 in 2014 before heading upwards.
Record low carjacking arrests
Only five percent of carjackers were arrested last year, and only seven percent have been arrested in 2021.
Most are repeat offenders.
On May 15, Police arrested John Daniels, 19, for a Saturday afternoon carjacking of a 59 year old man in Buena Park. He “allegedly had two accomplices, including an 11 year old boy,” according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times. One of them punched the victim in the face several times, breaking his left orbital bone, and demanded his keys.
It was Daniels’ second carjacking arrest in 2021. Police also arrested him on Feb. 3 for carjacking a 28 year old West Town man’s Lexus ES300 while he shoveled snow to make a parking spot. The man refused to press charges because said he “felt sorry” for Daniels.
Chicago police records show seven arrests for Daniels since his 18th birthday, including the two for carjacking as well as for a Back of the Yards assault, criminal trespassing at a Back of the Yards McDonald’s, disorderly conduct at a West Englewood Foot Locker during the 2020 George Floyd riots, a Loop theft and criminal damage to property.
Police arrested Leonard Johnson, 22, for a Lincoln Park carjacking on April 22. It was his eighth Chicago arrest since his 18th birthday--- including previous charges of battery, criminal trespassing, theft and the robbery of a man at the Red Line Grand Avenue El station, for which he received a three year prison sentence and was on parole.
Current Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office on May 20, 2019.
| Chicago Carjackings by the numbers | |||||
| 2021 is shaping up to be another record-breaking year for carjackings in Chicago. | |||||
| Reported Carjacking Incidents | Carjacking Arrests | % of carjackers arrested | Through June 16 | ||
| 2021 | 692 | 47 | 7% | 692 | |
| 2020 | 1,413 | 68 | 5% | 418 | |
| 2019 | 604 | 58 | 10% | 230 | |
| 2018 | 764 | 79 | 10% | 327 | |
| 2017 | 937 | 76 | 8% | 347 | |
| 2016 | 663 | 69 | 10% | 229 | |
| 2015 | 340 | 38 | 11% | 116 | |
| 2014 | 303 | 38 | 13% | 121 | |
| 2013 | 344 | 52 | 15% | 145 | |
| 2012 | 487 | 51 | 10% | 206 | |
| 2011 | 554 | 56 | 10% | 201 | |
| 2010 | 570 | 56 | 10% | 221 | |
| 2009 | 735 | 85 | 12% | 272 | |
| 2008 | 790 | 72 | 9% | 348 | |
| 2007 | 897 | 104 | 12% | 380 | |
| 2006 | 952 | 97 | 10% | 389 | |
| 2005 | 1,033 | 102 | 10% | 399 | |
| 2004 | 1,088 | 105 | 10% | 485 | |
| 2003 | 1,279 | 117 | 9% | 556 | |
| 2002 | 1,370 | 116 | 8% | 578 | |
| Source: City of Chicago Police Department | |||||
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