Auto Theft And Robberies Have Exploded In Philadelphia, And It’s Getting Worse While The City Does Nothing But Reveal Plan On Paper

This story was first published by Renaldo McKenzie in LinkedIn
2022 has already started out on a low note for many people who are suffering from carjacking and robbery. The ABC Action 6 News Team Investigation reported recently that: there has been a rise in dealership auto theft in Philadelphia. According to the report, "there were more than 8,800 thefts reported in 2021 in Philadelphia. That's up from approximately 5,500 in 2020 and 1,900 in 2019" (Investigation into rise of dealership auto thefts during the pandemic in Philadelphia region - 6abc Philadelphia). However, Action 6 ABC News failed to see that the problem does not only reside at dealerships, its everywhere in the city.

I reside in Philadelphia, which is becoming extremely violent, dangerous and difficult to reside. Last year Philadelphia had over 8000 stolen vehicles and over 750 carjackings. This year already, we are outpacing last year just three weeks into the year with over 150 carjackings or stolen vehicles and as a result we may double the 2021 figures if we do not deliberately and intentionally deal with this issue. The criminals are targeting vehicles of a certain age and type and has their eyes set on restaurants who have delivery drivers as well. There has been a plethora of robberies and they're becoming more sophisticated, not only are the carjackers taking your car if its left running and locked, but they are now using wreckers and trucks to steal your vehicles.

Two weeks ago, I was in an accident where some boys in a dark tint BMW hit my car and then fled. Then Last Monday, the Enterprise Rental car I was using was stolen while I was at the gas station. Even though we have the store videos of robbery (showing the plate/color of the car that was used to do the robbery, the three young men in Skii masks etc... the police haven't located the car or the criminals. My iPhone was left in the car, and it was pinging in the Lincoln Drive area of Clifford Park Philadelphia, but we are still unable to locate the car. Note: Covid has led to masking that makes it difficult to identify criminals that makes criminality more covert.

What has been the response from the authorities: The City Officials and the Police leadership? According to a story entitled "Philadelphia's Carjackings Rise Early in The New Year," in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star (pencapital-star.com), "Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that the department will be deploying additional resources to investigate these incidents and prevent these incidents from happening in the first place." The story quotes the Commissioner as saying that "the PPD is utilizing targeted controls which include both uniformed and plainclothes officers. These officers are placed strategically throughout the city.... On the investigative end, we have a task force dedicated to investigating carjackings in the city in addition to our divisional detectives. Our Intelligence Bureau has also gathered information from multiple sources, participating in mutual exchanges of information with our law enforcement partners and aiding in identifying problem areas" (penncapital-star.com). Outlaw added that the police department needs the public’s help. 

However, it is alarming that out of the over 8800 carjacking and auto theft, only seven have been arrested, and only four of them are still in custody. Yet Philadelphia and our Police Chief would like us to believe that they are working hard to resolve this issue. Yet, there is no sign of their efforts which is suggesting that carjackings and auto thefts are slowing down. If anything, we have already reported that this year alone, we are outpacing last year, and a Philadelphia Police revealed to me that the problem is escalating as there is no indication that the carjacking and robberies are slowing down, and this is partly due to the fact that Philadelphia is not serious about carjacking and robbery. According to the Officer, as soon as they catch the culprits, Philadelphia city releases the carjackers with no real consequence; and if people have no real consequence for their actions, then what is stopping them from committing a crime. As a result, we will continue to have this kind of problem. which is affecting working people's lives. 

Philadelphians may need to protest and apply pressure on their city officials to ensure that we provide the necessary resources to catch and prosecute the offenders. A strong message must be sent to the criminals that we are on the alert, and we will catch you and when we do, we will bring you to justice. 

I must send out a warning and a tip. Those who are doing the stealing seem to be part of a coordinated effort. Why do I say so? I have done my own observations and after my car was stolen, I did some digging which led me one night to a Deli where it seems a plan was in motion. I noticed some young men in a dark tinted vehicle, one went inside the deli, and another was posted up in the corner in ski mask watching and waiting for an opportunity. Then one lad was in the car while another was by the door looking across the gas station. It was quite ominous. They noticed a car running with the person in the store. One of the guys went towards the car but the owner left the store, and the other guy alerted the others. They then boarded their car and followed after her when she departed. One of the other boys jumped into another car and drove off. 

The conclusion from my ongoing anecdotal investigations and observations is that the criminals are posting up at the Deli's such as on Chew Avenue in Germantown or at delivery restaurants and by gas stations and busy places where people go. They then have one guy inside the shop as a look out and another in a dark tinted vehicle, outside. They may travel in groups of threes in tinted vehicles, wearing ski masks and they post up from a distance and watch your movements. Then they make their moves. I do not believe it is always sporadic, but it is coordinated and strategic based on my investigations. In fact, some criminals will order from restaurants and provide a fake address that takes you to an abandon building, and this is usually late evenings. "One driver stated that he went to 101 E church lane but when he pulled up, there was no such building, and the address takes you to an abandon area that looks remote and dark. They may either try to steal the car when you step out to deliver or use force with a weapon." We are aware of several car theft and robberies that happened over the last month; one Pizza store in Philadelphia is struggling to find drivers as some of its drivers have had their cars stolen or attempts were made. As such Drivers are now exploring other gigs given the dangers of driving and escalation in robberies. Other residents we interviewed in Philadelphia last week had their cars broken into while parked at home and one respondent stated that she got back her car several days later as it was used in a heist. And it happened to me where my car with my cash, wallet, Laptop, Phone and some other items were stolen. Let us not wait for this to escalate even further, let us as apply the necessary pressure to our city officials to work with the police to ensure that justice is being served and that the necessary resources are provided to mitigate this issue that has affected so many lives and people and businesses. We will continue to follow this story and have contacted local media houses regarding this issue. I am hoping that we shed more light on these stories as the more we expose this, the less impetus people will have to utilize car theft as a means of living.

In closing, Covid has helped us to abandon certain requirements that was there to protect us in the first place. People couldn't wear ski masks and hoodies weren't allowed inside stores without the head gear down. Now, everyone can wear hoodies and ski masks and drive in very dark tint vehicles without question and this has allowed for a certain level of covert operations. Criminals feel safe as they can now travel incognito without fear of being identified easily. If we are to deal with the rising carjackings, auto theft and robberies, we must now reassess our requirements that allow masking; for what we did was to remove one rule to make way for another without putting in place protections that the old rule provided for.

#newsupdate: regarding the explosion of #stolenvehicles in #Philadelhia, our sources have revealed that this is a coordinated effort where stolen vehicles are been #shipped to #Africa as soon as they are taken, and that the boys who are doing the stealing on the ground level are getting paid $1000.00 per stolen vehicle per person. What needs to happen with our investigations is to carry out inspections at shipping yards, docs, ports of entry and departure, harbours and that we examine shipping records and logs, cargo/containers before they leave #USPorts and that our government’s #lawenformemt and investigation units such as tue Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the #CIA work with the African federation to monitor their ports for illegal importation of vehicles. This need to be a coordinated and organised effort if we are going to resolve this issue.

We located my stolen car and two of the people who have been jacking and stealing cars. They young men were 14 and 18 years old and were armed with guns. Part of the car stealing and carjacking spree in #Philadelphia wasn't only about shipping car to Africa to make a quick buck. But we have been informed by sources that some of the robberies were associated with a #grandtheftauto heist where young men are reenacting the Grand Theft Auto Game, where they steal at random any vehicle to go on a heist or to be chased by the #police or to go on a joy ride. I have argued that part of the problem we have in our society to today is not having more of less #cars or #guns, but the #stimuli that socialize our children to be numb to #violence and #human struggles and suffering; and to engage in criminal activity that they have been sensationalized and drawn to by #videogames. No longer are consciences developed to respect and value each other, only to "look good" and to satisfy greed while tearing down the other which is what some of these video games promote.