Spike in serious Metro crimes drives highest rate in 6 years

(Examiner File)

Crime rose in the Metro system last year, with transit police investigating the highest number of reported crimes in at least the past six years.

Serious crimes increased more than 15 percent in 2008 over the previous year, according to the Metro report slated to be presented to the agency’s board Thursday. That was a total of 1,821 crimes, ranging from robbery to assault — an average of about five serious crimes a day.

Tips for staying safe

Metro Transit Police advise riders to take the following precautions:

Metrorail or Metrobus
* Stay aware of your surroundings and do not get distracted listening to music or using an electronic device such as a BlackBerry.
* Swap out earbuds for ones that blend in and won’t suggest you are carrying an expensive electronic device.
* Beware of pickpockets. If you are bumped into, immediately check your purse or wallet to make sure nothing is missing.

Parking
* Lock your vehicle.
* Do not leave valuables in the vehicle, but, if you must, put them out of sight in the locked trunk.

Report crime quickly
* If you are the victim of a crime or see something suspicious, press the intercom on the train or station platform. Tell the first Metro employee you see, as soon as possible. On Metrobus, alert the bus operator immediately.
* Call Metro’s emergency communications: 202-962-2121.

Riders can take some solace that reported assaults declined somewhat. There were no rapes or homicides. But the number of thefts rose substantially.

Robberies, which involve theft from a person, jumped by nearly a third. Larceny, the most frequently reported crime, jumped 17 percent for a total of 864 cases, up from 739. Larceny is theft without the owner present.

“With more people in the system, more crime occurs,” said Metro Transit Police Deputy Chief Jeff Delinski.

Yet not all of the increase can be explained by the 3 percent increase in ridership, which was well below the increase in serious crimes reported. And though transit police made more arrests last year than in 2007, the growth was smaller than the number of serious crimes overall.

The majority of crimes in the system occur in Metro’s parking garages and lots, where items such as briefcases, laptops and cell phones are stolen from vehicles. Larceny rose 15 percent in parking lots since 2007.

But the biggest increases occurred outside of parking lots. Robberies outside of parking lots jumped 46 percent, from 324 in 2007 to 473 in 2008. Robbers stole small electronic devices such as iPods, BlackBerries and cell phones from people distracted by those very items.

Metro investigated 5,129 less serious crimes last year, ranging from drunkenness to disorderly conduct to vandalism. Those crimes rose 14 percent from 2007.

Still, Delinski says, the Metro system is one of the safest places to be in the region. “Compared to local jurisdictions, crime is significantly lower,” he said. “You can draw a conclusion that it is safer to be on a subway or in a parking lot than in any other part of the region.”

In 2008, the system averaged 2.52 crimes per million riders, he said. But he said that number already has improved in 2009 to 2.10 crimes per million riders through the end of February.

The police unit, with an authorized force of 450 officers, has reorganized in the past few months so that officers specialize on particular types of crimes such as auto theft, he said. Some work in a special anti-crime task force that includes plainclothes officers who ride the rail system.

In the first two months of this year, arrests rose 40 percent from the same period last year.

And the department expects the crime problem to improve. It was authorized to hire 28 new police officers for specific specialties, he said, many of whom will take to the streets in a few months.