Just like in so many other areas of the country, Warren County, Ohio is struggling with a wave of car thefts committed by teenage suspects. Rather than some unorganized trend sparked by social media, behind it is reportedly a theft ring that’s been aggressively going after vehicles, including using armed carjackings.
Watch out for bump carjackings.
As covered by local news station Fox 19, these teens have hit both private vehicle owners and dealership lots in their quest to steal cars. In at least one case, when confronted by an owner of one of the rides being stolen, a teenager produced a gun, threatening to shoot the person if they tried to further intervene.
It’s the kind of situation we’ve seen play out in so many parts of North America over the last few years. For a while many people weren’t aware that teens were stealing a lot of cars, but now people just seem perplexed to learn such young kids are the ones boosting rides in their town a lot of the time.
After all, people naturally assume it’s hardened adult criminals stealing cars. What they don’t realize is these organized crime rings love to recruit minors, realizing prosecutors and even police will go easier on them.
That means the kids will often get a slap on the wrist for stealing vehicles, then be back on the streets in no time, able to continue boosting rides for cash. Plus, the theft rings can pay the teens little money for the risky work, increasing profits.
The big question which doesn’t seem to have a lot of obvious answers is how local authorities can combat the problem. After all, many of these theft rings are international with the leaders in foreign countries, so it’s not like they can go arrest the guys. It’s a real problem.
Image via Fox19 NOW/YouTube
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