A chop shop is a business, often
mimicking
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry ...
a
body shop, that illicitly disassembles
stolen motor vehicles and sells
their parts. Chop shops are often linked to car-theft rings as part of a broader
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...
enterprise.
In the United States, the federal Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act of 1984 and
Federal Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992, as well as
U.S. Department of Transportation regulations issued under those acts, require automobile manufacturers to label many different auto components (with some exemptions for new automobiles with selected
anti-theft devices
Anti-theft systems protect valuables such as vehicles and personal property like wallets, phones, and jewelry. They are also used in retail settings to protect merchandise in the form of security tags and labels. Anti-theft systems include devices ...
). A 1999 study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice's
National Institute of Justice
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the United States Department of Justice. NIJ, along with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juven ...
estimated that parts marking reduced the rate of professional car theft (with "between 33 and 158 fewer cars" being "stolen by professional thieves per 100,000 cars that were marked between 1987 and 1995"), inhibiting chop-shop operations.
See also
*
Carjacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...
*
Motor vehicle theft
*
Pawn shop
References
External links
''Criminal Resource Manual'' 1369: Chop Shops(18 U.S.C. ยง 2322)
Multi-State Chop Shop Operation Disrupted - Criminal Enterprise Leader Among Those Convicted(
FBI)
Organized crime activity
Motor vehicle theft
Auto parts suppliers
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