ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — On Friday, the leader of the FBI in Albuquerque said the high number of carjackings in New Mexico is concerning and that people need to be aware of what’s going on.

“To me, these are one of the most violent offenses you can put against someone,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda said. “They can result in homicide. I think that’s why the penalties attached to carjacking are so severe.”

Bujanda said in New Mexico carjackings will be a federal charge – that’s 15 years to life, including the possibility of the death penalty.

“Once you get caught on this, you’re going to do some serious time,” Bujanda said.

He said there have been 30 carjackings in New Mexico through the first three months of the year – a pace that’s in line with the last few years.

He doesn’t think those numbers will go down any time soon.

“They’re consistent, and to me, this is something we need to talk about,” Bujanda said.

Local law enforcement in Albuquerque has responded to 46 carjacking calls this year, according to spokespeople for Albuquerque police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

That’s more than one every two and a half days.

Bujanda pointed out a chilling and tragic example of carjackings turning deadly – the death of state police officer Justin Hare earlier this year.

We now know officers believe the man accused, Jaremy Smith, was on the run after killing a woman in another state.

In another incident this year, officers said David Crespin carjacked multiple people in Albuquerque while trying to get away from police. Officers said he threw one of the victims out of their car.

Bujanda said the people accused have almost always committed violent crimes in the past, and sometimes gangs are involved.

“Most of them graduate into that kind of crime because it’s so in-your-face. It’s so aggressive,” Bujanda said. “It has to be so violent to literally pull someone out of their car, or force them out of their car, or sometimes to take their life, just for that car.”

Bujanda said the three main reasons a person would carjack someone are simply wanting to get somewhere, because they think it’s fun, and because they want to make money. Suspects scrap vehicles for parts, or sell them – sometimes driving them the short distance to Mexico.

“It makes a lot of those types of crimes a little bit more lucrative, because all you really need to do is get these cars across the border and they’re lost and forgotten,” Bujanda said.

Bujanda said drug addiction is what drives many people to commit these crimes, despite the potential punishment.

“It’s this addictive behavior that causes someone to do things outside of what they would normally do,” Bujanda said.

Bujanda said to help prevent carjackings everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings – to not be distracted. They can happen any time of the day. If someone is being followed, they should consider driving to a police station or a public place.