Be Aware of Your Surroundings, Even on Quiet Residential Streets

Carjacking gangs often employ the bump and run technique in which thieves in one car pull up behind an unsuspecting driver and bump the driver s car. When the driver gets out to inspect the damage, the thieves forcibly take control of the car. _Carjacking

OrlandoSunSentinel
The highway crime commonly referred to as the "bump and run" is becoming more common in metropolitan areas across the US. Known in Los Angeles since 1987, and in Miami since 1993, the crime is becoming especially common recently in Palm Beach, Florida, and in Denver, Colorado.

Just as in traditional carjacking, most perpetrators appear to be of African descent, and capable of violence. Highways have always been places of potential risk, but this particular crime involves the use of multiple tonne vehicles as both weapons and diversions.

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The suspects are typically driving a stolen vehicle when they bump the back of the victim's vehicle. When the victims get out to check for damage, they are robbed at gunpoint of their cell phones, purses and other valuables, investigators said.

Many times it happens at night on quiet residential streets, where there is little or no traffic and few witnesses, Olsen said.

In some cases, suspects either forced their victims to drive to an ATM to withdraw money or the victims were confronted while using ATMs, detectives said. Police are urging people to be aware of their surroundings, especially while using ATMs.

If involved in a minor rear-end bump, police say, people should drive to a well-lit and populated area and call 911 immediately. _OrlandoSunSentinel

News media in the US typically avoid mentioning the ethnic identity of perpetrators when the crime involves black on white aggression or violence. But citizens can better look out for themselves if they are apprised of the nature of the crime with as much detail as possible.

Most intelligent Americans are aware that a low-level declaration of war by a subset of black Americans against all white Americans has been in force since the middle 1960s. This black-on-white crime wave began about the same time that the last holdouts among American states finally gave equal legal rights to African Americans, and about the time that government Affirmative Action special preferences for blacks were put into law.

The timing for the simmering US race war of blacks against whites has to do with the creation of a mass culture of resentment within the black community. Both popular media and ethnic media were involved in pumping this resentment to violent levels, and much of the black community -- including many black religious organisations -- jumped on the bandwagon.

At this point in time -- with a somewhat "black" US president who helps fuel the black resentment machine with many of his public and private statements and postures -- there is no reason to expect black against white crime to diminish. Rather it is up to individuals who wish to avoid this quasi-institutionalised crime to position themselves in locations where their risk is minimised. And always, always be aware of your surroundings.