Carjacking is technically a robbery or armed robbery, depending on whether a weapon is used. The factor that distinguishes carjacking from auto theft is the taking of a vehicle from a person or in the presence of the driver. After much difficulty in tracking down statistics on carjackings in the District of Columbia, the author had to review individual case reports based on offenses identified as carjackings by the Auto Theft Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department. In the District of Columbia, there were 439 carjackings from September 1992 through December 1993. The data presented include the time frames in which most carjackings occurred; days of the week; whether a weapon was used; victim injuries; victim's race, gender, and age; relationship between the victim and offender; residence of offender; race, gender, and age of offenders; number of offenders in each incident; types of cars stolen; and motivation for the offense. The primary motive for carjacking in the District of Columbia is apparently to obtain a vehicle for transportation rather than for the sale of the vehicle or its parts. Based on the laxity of the police in keeping or making public records on carjacking, the author concludes that the Metropolitan Police Department is attempting to downplay the problem, since it focuses its resources on drug offenses and homicides. 8 references