Orange County sheriff discusses what's behind uptick in auto thefts, carjackings

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- According to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), car thefts are increasing across the state.

In Orange County, there were nearly 400 reported car thefts in 2023, which is double the number of reports from 2022, according to the SBI. Some of these incidents involve more and more young people, according to Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood.

"They're breaking into houses," Blackwood said. "They're stealing property, they're robbing folks, they're carjacking. They're using violent tactics to commit these crimes."

Just recently, a 16-year-old was arrested in connection with two armed carjackings in Orange County -- one in Carrboro and one in Chapel Hill.

Although Blackwood said juvenile crime overall has come down in some areas, there are still several factors contributing to the uptick in car thefts and carjackings involving young people, including the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic response, the sheriff contended.

"When they shut schools down ... the social aspect of the interactions we have every day become a mental health problem, not just with our children, but with everyone," Blackwood said.

In some cases, Blackwood said, these young people charged with these crimes in Orange County are coming from other parts of the state.

"What this identifies is that these criminals are not breaking into houses and robbing people in the communities that they live in," Blackwood said. "They have somewhere else to escape to, and they can jump out of that car and leave, and they've lost nothing."

Some organizations are working to keep young people away from crime, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties.

"We have our SMART Moves program, which basically talks about making good life choices," Chapel Hill site director Jay Pulliam said. "We have Street SMART, which we're talking about gang prevention, different ways of handling conflict and building character at an early age."

Pulliam said he has a passion for this job he's had for several years.

"For me, it's just being able to give the kids something that I didn't have growing up or I wish that I had growing up," Pulliam said. "A lot of the stuff that we talk about here may be some things that we feel that we can help fill in the blanks."