‘Surge’ in carjackings a coincidence, says AA

It’s not quite South Africa, the AA’s Conor Faughnan points out when it comes to the level of carjacking in Ireland. A cluster of recent attacks has led to concerns this kind of activity is on the increase but voices of reason are attempting to defuse an alarmist response.

There have been five relatively high-profile and often violent incidents of late, most of them in Dublin, with gardaí making headway in each case.

In the latest, four men involved in a collision with a bus in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, stole a black Mercedes after it had stopped to lend them assistance. A female passenger was injured.

The apparent “surge” is being viewed as simple coincidence with an added irony that vociferous claims this type of robbery is escalating may only prompt copycat crime.

“Firstly we should be clear in terms of context that Ireland is and remains a very safe country,” says Faughnan.

“Carjacking as a type of crime is extremely rare. In South Africa it’s a well understood phenomenon and the threat to your security is very real and dangerous.”

Measures
There are measures people can take to reduce the chances they will be targeted. Again, the scale of these pale in comparison to South Africa where, Faughnan explains, car protection measures include jets of fire spewing from underneath the chassis.

In Ireland, less extreme courses of action such as driving around with your doors locked – some models do this automatically – and not leaving valuables within tempting reach through partially open windows, is a good place to start.

If anything, statistics suggest a slight decrease in carjacking in recent years. Figures from the Central Statistics Office analyse “hijacking offences” as including “carjacking, hijacking/unlawful seizure of aircraft/vessel”.

It is safe to assume that aircraft and boats are less frequently targeted and the hijacking of cash-in-transit vans is listed as a separate offence.

In that context, there were 116 such hijackings recorded in 2008 with 43 successfully investigated or detected; there were 100 in 2011 (50 detected) and 98 in 2012 (47 detected).

This activity has existed for some time and the relatively sparse rate is reflected in the CSO data, something gardaí are keen to espouse.

No links
A well-placed source said there are no links between the recent carjackings in the capital; what we are seeing is simply a "cluster" that has brought the issue to the fore.

“The guards are eager to dismiss the notion that this is some sort of epidemic. These are opportunistic thieves; there is no planning, they [opportunities] have to just present themselves,” the source said.

“We would be anxious to play this down as some sort of new phenomenon. These are similar but random acts of criminality.”

There are commonsense precautions motorists can take to ensure they aren’t a target.

“There is a psychology that when you are inside your car you are safe but you shouldn’t have bags, laptops, iPads things like that [in open view],” says Faughnan.

In traffic it’s a good idea to leave a small space between the car in front so that if anyone is trying to force their way in, there is some room to manoeuvre.

“Remember the car horn,” adds Faughnan, pointing out that often the obvious is quickly forgotten.

Parking in safe well-lit places is the age-old advice that comes to mind, while using a car fob to unlock the doors should only be done when beside the vehicle.