Carjacking: A Comparison Between Campinas, Brazil and Detroit, Michigan

AuthorSilas Nogueira de Melo,Shanhe Jiang,Yanqing Xu,Marcus Felson
DOI10.1177/10439862211034346
Published date01 February 2022
Date01 February 2022
https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211034346
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
2022, Vol. 38(1) 105 –119
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/10439862211034346
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Article
Carjacking: A Comparison
Between Campinas, Brazil
and Detroit, Michigan
Marcus Felson1, Silas Nogueira de Melo2,
Yanqing Xu3, and Shanhe Jiang4
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.
Keywords
carjacking, routine activities, spatial patterns, crime analysis, crime in Brazil
Introduction
Virtually all direct-contact predatory crimes involve the convergence of at least
one offender with a suitable target in the absence of a capable guardian. Carjacking
is a very specific crime that enhances these routine activity requirements. That
enhancement occurs because carjacking occurs so suddenly and violently within a
1Texas State University, San Marcos, USA
2Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, São Luís, Brazil
3The University of Toledo, OH, USA
4Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
Corresponding Author:
Marcus Felson, School of Criminal Justice and Criminology (Retired), Texas State University, 10236
Pinehurst Drive, Austin, Texas, USA, 78747.
Email: mf38@txstate.edu
1034346CCJXXX10.1177/10439862211034346Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeFelson et al.
research-article2021

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