Carjacking: A Comparison Between Campinas, Brazil and Detroit, Michigan. (February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Felson, Marcus; Melo, Silas Nogueira de; Xu, Yanqing; Jiang, Shanhe
• Other Names: Ceccato Vania guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Journal of contemporary criminal justice. Volume 38:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 105
• Page End: 119
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Subjects: carjacking -- routine activities -- spatial patterns -- crime analysis -- crime in Brazil; Criminal justice, Administration of -- Periodicals; Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States -- Periodicals; 364.973
• DOI: 10.1177/10439862211034346
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1043-9862

Abstract

Carjacking calls for a specialized analysis because it occurs at lightning speed within very brief windows of opportunity. This article describes the geographic distribution of carjacking in Campinas, Brazil, and then compares this pattern with Detroit, Michigan. We learn that raw numbers of carjackings are widely dispersed in both cities. Although these cities differ greatly in daily transportation systems, in both cities the carjacking risk estimate is greatest where motorists stop for other reasons—at gas stations or corners (Detroit); on short street blocks (Campinas). We make very limited inferences about carjacking around the world due to the limited number of cities studied thus far. However, we do suggest that carjacking reduction is most amenable to product-based forms of situational crime prevention.