Car theft is the stealing of a car, often through violent means, and can involve armed robbery or kidnapping. The goal is usually to sell the car or its parts on the black market. Victims may not be injured, but the experience is disturbing. Similar crimes involve hijacking trucks for their cargo. Car theft is prevalent in certain areas and has been incorporated into some video games, which have received criticism.
A car theft is an event in which a car is stolen or hijacked. The term can be used to describe a theft of a car that has been left unattended, but more often it refers to a violent crime in which a car is stolen while the owner is inside it. In many cases, a car theft is an armed robbery in which the owner or driver of the car is forced to surrender the vehicle at gunpoint or knife point. In some rare cases, a car theft is paired with a kidnapping, but the criminal usually forces the driver and any other members of the car out of the vehicle before driving away. In the United States, auto theft is a federal crime.
The event may be premeditated or may be the act of an opportunist criminal. If the purpose of the car theft isn’t to kidnap the driver or other people in the vehicle, the main goal is usually to sell the car and its contents on the black market. Cars stolen in this method can be taken to a repair shop, which is a place where stolen motor vehicles are broken down and sold for their parts. Cars equipped with expensive accessories, such as high-end stereo systems, are sometimes targeted.
In many cases, auto theft victims are not injured by the criminals who steal their cars, although there have been cases where the victims have sustained serious injuries. It is more common for car thieves to threaten physical harm, but not act on these threats. The experience is, however, very disturbing. There are certain areas in the United States and abroad where auto theft is prevalent. Depending on the area where the crimes occur, there may be a certain population targeted or a certain class of vehicle that the thieves are after.
There are similar crimes where trucks carrying cargo loads are hijacked by criminals. In these crimes, vehicles are stolen for their contents, not their parts. These crimes are not usually referred to as ‘carjacking’, but the criminal act involved in these events is quite similar to car theft. The forced theft of cars and trucks has been incorporated into some video games where players earn points for certain crimes. These games have received a lot of criticism.
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