Note: On July 20, Sen. Limmer provided comments to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission on the newly enacted carjacking statue. Senator Limmer also provided the following written testimony to the commission.
July 20, 2023
Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission
658 Cedar Street, Suite G-58
St. Paul, MN 55155
sentencing.guidelines@state.mn.us
Dear Commissioners,
It has come to my attention that the MN Sentencing Guidelines Commission will soon consider recognizing the crime of carjacking as a separate offense other than robbery or theft. Likewise, your deliberations will also include criminal sanctions for violation of such a crime.
As a legislator, I too have given this much thought and have had lengthy discussions with my Senate colleagues. Having heard from my constituents, I know the subject of carjacking is also on the minds of our citizens. The thought of being threatened, assaulted, and forcefully deprived of their vehicle is foremost on their minds at the gas pump, parking lot, and sometimes in their own driveway. My colleagues and I have heard many accounts of such assaults.
Carjacking is a serious crime, much more serious than simple robbery or car theft. The threat of deadly force by an assailant in order to steal one’s vehicle makes it a personal crime, rather than just one that involves property. The threat alone can also involve others that may be in the target vehicle, especially those who are young children or infants in car seats.
The crime invades one’s personal space and property that has generally been considered safe. The subsequent theft and travel of the stolen vehicle triggers harrowing speeds, often through densely populated areas. I believe just this year alone, at least two individuals have been killed by car thieves who were racing through metropolitan areas at high rates of speed, losing control of the vehicles and crashing into others.
I have also followed the statistics showing that reported carjackings were double the amount from 2021 to 2022! This crime against our citizens evokes fear to both the car owner and passengers, as well as to the public at large. This is a serious and violent crime with deadly consequences to perpetrator and citizen alike.
For the following reasons I recommend the act of carjacking be considered a felony level crime:
- Carjacking is an intentional crime. Stealing a car with deadly threat is so much more than taking someone’s property without permission.
- Intentional carjacking evokes fear to a vehicle’s occupants as well as the general public.
- Often carjacking turns the stolen vehicle into a weapon, especially if the car is used at high rates of speed in crowded circumstances, which causes even more danger to our citizens.
- Since we are so dependent on individual automobile use, carjacking can take away one’s ability to get to and from work (often affecting low-income families at a disproportionate rate).
I introduced legislation earlier this year, which I believe is worthy of your consideration. The proposal formally recognizes the crime of ‘carjacking.’ It is modeled after our current robbery statute with its three levels based on simple or aggravated charges. The proposal adds 5 years’ incarceration to the maximum statutory penalty based on whether the threat is 1) Implied; 2) Occurrence of Bodily harm; 3). Occurrence of Death of victim(s). A copy of the proposal is attached here, SF 2028.
The proposal also imposes a mandatory minimum sentence for each level of infraction (2 years, 4 years, or 6 years).
Despite the hope that carjacking and violent crime would subside, the limited data received this year is inconclusive. Deadly accidents caused by those who perpetrate carjacking are a deadly threat to our citizens, as well as themselves.
Enhancing the penalty of carjacking, as well as assuring swift prosecution of carjacking, is necessary to stem the ever-increasing rate of this deadly threat to our people.
Respectfully,