Washington, D.C., and neighboring Prince George's County, Md., have seen a massive uptick in carjackings since 2020, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Carjackings in the district rose from 142 the year before the pandemic to 426 last year, while Prince George's County saw its number rise from 100 to 394, the Post found.
Officials in both the district and the county say it's primarily children being arrested for the crimes, though they can't say who committed unsolved carjackings. Juvenile court proceedings are confidential, so police also can't say whether young carjackers later had charges dropped.
D.C. and Prince George's County aren't alone in seeing a spike. As the Washington Free Beacon reported, FBI data show carjackings surged nationwide in 2020, as did shootings and murders. Homicide numbers worsened throughout 2021.
The crime surge coincided with the rise of the Defund the Police movement and progressive billionaire George Soros's massive donations to support far-left prosecutors who believe in lax law enforcement.
One city near the district, however, found a way to stop its carjacking rise. Police in Arlington, Va., in Feb. 2021 expanded their patrolling efforts, which brought their carjacking rates in one high-crime neighborhood down to zero.