Teen gangs with weapons stabbing and biting in violent carjackings

A spate of highly violent carjackings by teenage gangs has seen victims stabbed, bitten and threatened with dangerous weapons.

Teens are targeting expensive European-made cars and using them in other high-level crimes.

More than 1000 carjacking offences have been recorded by police since it became a specific crime five years ago.

Victoria Police statistics have revealed the staggering growth of a terrifying crime which was virtually non-existent in Melbourne a decade ago.

It comes amid a series of highly violent carjackings in recent months in which teenage gangs have stabbed, bitten and threatened victims with dangerous weapons.

Designated carjacking offences were introduced in 2016 as police battled to combat a surge in incidents.

Crime Statistics Agency figures show there have been 240 aggravated carjackings with an offensive weapon since then.

Carjackings by force came in at 244 and there have been 55 involving a gun.

The CSA numbers show 211 attempted carjackings, 113 attempted aggravated carjackings and 14 attempts with a gun.

Carjackings are almost always the work of teenagers and invariably committed in groups, police sources say.

Expensive European-made cars are frequently targeted, often close to freeways which the carjackers use as escape routes.

In many cases, those vehicles will then be used in other high-level crimes such as armed robberies and aggravated burglaries.

Some of those involved are in their early teens with virtually no driving experience, making police pursuits a high-risk proposition.

There are instances where the teens just want to drive around for kicks in a high-powered vehicle.

Social media has been used by some of the offenders to boast in real time about their stolen wheels.

“It’s just to be gangster,” one detective said.

Youth gang crime has become such a big problem that police have launched a specific operation to stop them.

Police also proactively patrol high-risk locations to try to disrupt and deter gangs from offending.

A Victoria Police spokesman said just over 270 carjacking offences were committed last year — 40 fewer than the previous year — and a third of them were attempts in which the victims’ cars were not taken.

He said these offences have an enormous impact on victims and that police are committed to keeping the community safe.

“Every carjacking is one too many due to the severe physical and psychological impact crimes such as these can leave on victims,” the spokesman said.