Metro is on pace to see twice as many robberies on the transit system this year as last, based on January and February statistics.
There were 96 robberies reported to Metro Transit Police during those two months, compared with 46 reported during that period last year.
Robberies already had spiked 18 percent in 2007 from 2006, officials said in January.
The agency reported 417 robberies on the transit system during all of 2007, with many of the incidents involving stolen personal electronics.
While aggravated assaults, motor vehicle thefts and attempted motor vehicle thefts dropped slightly over the first two months of last year, the dramatic jump in robberies — defined as taking something by force or intimidation — has raised the transit system’s overall crime rate.
Larcenies — defined as thefts of personal property that do not involve force or intimidation — kept an even pace with last year.
Crime is most prevalent in Metro parking lots, followed by in the train system and then on the bus, statistics show.
“What we’ve seen is part of a national trend that has arrived here locally, and that is an increase in the thefts of things such as iPods and cell phones,” Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.
Farbstein said transit police have assigned extra plainclothes officers to parking lots and trains, but declined to provide numbers.
Many of the robberies are “snatch and grabs,” she said, and riders can help prevent the crimes by remaining alert.
Transit police have made 238 arrests so far this year, up from 227 arrests in January and February 2007.
Metro’s new transit police chief, Michael Taborn, said this month that he would evaluate the department’s current programs.
“He’s going to look at what’s been successful, and what’s been less successful and take positive steps in that direction,” Farbstein said.
Transit police are scheduled to present a quarterly crime report to Metro’s board of directors next month.
