Auto Thefts » Kinds of Robbery

As in all other kinds of robbery, auto robberies - also called as carjacking - involve one or more criminals taking your car from you by force. The robber may use or may not use a weapon. Carjacking can happen when you stop at a corner for a red light or when you go to a convenience store late at night. Carjackers, similar to other robbers, prefer to attack a person who is alone rather than with a carload of people. Common sense and the practical tips in this section can help you to avoid carjacking.

Two of the most common forms of robbery are armed and unarmed.

Armed Robbery-->Robbery committed while the person accused is armed with a dangerous weapon.

Unarmed Robbery-->If the person committing the larceny was not using a weapon or was not threatening to use a weapon during the commission of the crime.

Robbery is largely a big-city crime. Of 420,637 total robberies reported by law enforcement agencies nationwide in 2002, some 401,140 occurred in metropolitan areas-a rate of 173.4 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the rate of robberies in cities outside metropolitan.