Winnipeg carjackings in 2022 on pace to more than double 2021 numbers

An American security expert says Winnipeg’s recent spate of carjackings may be in part because vehicles are worth more than they ever have been before, making them a more lucrative potential target for thieves.

The latest figures from Winnipeg police show carjackings, like the back-to-back incidents the city saw this past weekend, are part of a worrying trend that has seen one incident every two days in 2022.

That puts Winnipeg on pace for more than 250 carjackings this year, more than double 2021’s numbers.

“Due to the supply chain being broken and everything being so expensive, when you look at, say, a $30,000 vehicle that is parted out  with that vehicle (thieves) could fetch almost twice as much,” security analyst Robert Siciliano told 680 CJOB’s The Start.

“People who simply want to put food on the table or satisfy a drug habit are desperate and are acting out in violent ways.”

Siciliano said U.S. cities like Philadelphia and Chicago are also experiencing some of the highest numbers they’ve seen in decades.

In the first month of 2022 alone, according to police stats, Winnipeg saw more carjackings than the previous three years combined, over the same period.

The two most recent Winnipeg carjackings have also been notable for the shocking behaviour of the accused.

In Friday’s incident, which took place in the lobby of a local library, a 16-year-old boy has been charged while a second suspect remains at large.

In that case, a woman pushing a baby stroller was robbed in broad daylight and had her car keys and vehicle stolen.

The age of the accused, Siciliano said, is also part of a worrying trend in which organized criminal groups are hiring teens to steal for them.

“If anything, they’re going to get juvenile detention for a shorter period of time as opposed to spending years in jail.

“That makes it much more lucrative for that organized crime ring, because they can hire, essentially, a bunch of underage criminals to do their bidding.”

Const. Dani McKinnon of the Winnipeg Police Service said she agrees with Siciliano that there’s an increase in this type of crime across North America… but said some of his assertions about youth involvement don’t necessarily track with what police are seeing locally.

“We’re not seeing entirely the same trends as the U.S., but we recognize that sometimes these trends do travel north of the border,” McKinnon told 680 CJOB.

“Some of the people that are arrested are part of gangs — especially when the firearms are involved. Other that that, they’re using them because it facilitates a need to fill.”

McKinnon said, primarily, the cars are being stolen because they can be used for both joyriding and in the commission of other crimes, primarily property crimes.

“We’re not showing evidence that youth are being used because they’ll get lower sentences in courts… we’re not seeing that in Winnipeg.”

0:56 Carjackings on rise in Winnipeg