Illinois State Police Just Brought the Hammer Down on Carjacking

If you suddenly see the number of carjackings start to decline in Illinois, I know why. The Illinois State Police have spent the past several months bringing the hammer down on those who steal vehicles and the results of their operation are impressive.

The Public Information Office of the Illinois State Police just released data from a project that really started making headway in April and continuing through the end of June. It was made possible by grant funding from the Illinois Secretary of State Illinois Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council to the tune of $10 million dollars with another $677,000 added just last month.

Here are the results from April through June of what the Illinois State Police accomplished:

• Vehicles recovered – stolen and/or hijacked 251
• Stolen vehicle arrests - 24
• Hijacked vehicle arrests - 3
• Firearms seized as a result of stolen/hijacked vehicle recovery - 15
• Missions targeting stolen/hijacked vehicle recovery and related violent crime - 58
• K9 used for stolen/hijacked vehicle recovery and related violence crime - 22
• Air Operations targeting stolen/hijacked vehicle recovery and related violent crime - 58
• Forensic laboratory assignments related to stolen/hijacked vehicle - 1,356

Time will tell if this new focus will lead to less carjackings in Illinois or if this is only a brief victory. Considering how many have had to deal with vehicle thefts in Illinois, I suppose we should all just celebrate the victories when we get them regardless if they are short-lived or not.