> The idea that people steal because it’s fun or commit fraud because they enjoy seeing their victims suffer is not supported by any sort of rigorous sociological or criminological understanding of social deviance
There's been a spate of carjackings after enforcement went down recently where the objective of the teens as young as 13 and 12 stealing cars if to have fun rides and to show off to their friends.
There was a 13 year old girl who was carjacking.
https://midcitydcnews.com/2023/09/29/why-do-kids-carjack/
> “Some of them don’t have the whole criminal mindset; like they’ll do stupid things,” one officer explained, speaking anonymously, “Like they’ll steal a car around the corner and then stop at a 7-11, say ‘Hey, I want something to drink,’ —but [they] stole the car right there.”
> So, the high percentage of youth apprehended for carjacking is likely due to their risky behavior. Yet, the question remains. What is it that motivates kids to carjack?
> One answer is as old as human adolescence. Stealing a car to joyride is a cheap thrill.
> For Thrills
> Most of the carjackings are “not done for any motive except just having fun,” said one sergeant, speaking at a public safety walk.
> “I mean they’re not stealing cars to sell parts, they’re just stealing cars to steal cars,” the officer added. Most cars, he pointed, are taken from one part of the city and later found parked in another quadrant.
....
>A 2023 article in “The Annual Review of Criminology” points out that this is not new. Seventy years ago, the majority of motor vehicle thefts reported each year were the work of young males, stated the study, “many of whom did it for thrills.”
Video of teens discussing the (lack of) charges:
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/viral-video-dc-teens-discussing-...
Another story:
https://www.hillrag.com/2023/12/06/carjacking-is-no-big-deal...
> The teen and several accomplices had pulled an Uber driver out of his vehicle and drove away in it. A police pursuit followed, the teens jumped out after driving into a dead-end street, and fled on foot. Shawn “was trying to scramble back into the house,” McGilly recalled. Police arrested the teenager and carted him away.
> Overnight, McGilly researched restorative justice. He was torn. On one hand, he was upset over his foster child’s arrest. On the other, Shawn might finally suffer the consequences of his illegal actions. It could be a new beginning, McGilly hoped.
> The next morning, McGilly got a phone call from the public defender. The teen was being released; all charges dropped, the lawyer said.
> Shawn told his friends how nothing happened after his arrest, McGilly said. Worse, he introduced other kids living in the house, one as young as 13, to the world of carjacking, which his contemporaries refer to as “free cars.”
> “Kids take other kids for joy rides in stolen vehicles, which they call ‘free cars,’ then graduate to teaching them how to carjack. When they got caught, nothing serious happened. So it exploded,” McGilly said. “We’ve had twice as many carjackings in 2023 as last year, and it’s just because more and more kids were being introduced to it.”
And this isn't just a victimless crime, several victis have died, including a doctor that was run over by his own car that a carjacker was stealing.