Robberies on the Metro’s subways, buses and parking lots are up 6.4 percent so far this year, a trend officials attribute mainly to record-shattering ridership, officials said Monday.
There have been 125 reported robberies in the system through May, up slightly from 117 over the same period last year, according to Metro Transit Police.
Meanwhile, overall crime has slid 12.7 percent. Metro Transit Police have reported 379 Part I crimes through May, down from 434 last year. Part I crimes includehomicide, rape, aggravated assault, arson, larceny, burglary, motor vehicle theft and robbery.
The trend comes as Metro continues to break ridership records with four of the top 10 busiest days in the system’s 30-year history set last week.
With more riders comes the potential for more crime, and Metro officials are reaching out to riders with crime prevention information, targeting riders who tune out to music on their portable music players, cell phone conversations or e-mails on their handheld personal digital assistants.
“With more and more people taking Metro these days, it is important for riders to watch what’s going on around them, especially when they’re using their cell phones and PDAs or listening to music,” said Metro Transit Police Sgt. Warren Donald, who also heads the Rail Anti-Crime Target Squad.
Although ridership is increasing, crime in the Metro system remains relatively low. There are 1.29 Part I crimes reported for every million Metrorail riders and less than one crime reported for every million Metrobus riders.
Safety Tips From Metro Police Sgt. Warren Donald:
» Always be alert of your surroundings and the people around you.
» If using an electronic device, such as a cell phone, MP3 or portable music player, please use the device at a low to moderate volume level.
» If using an MP3 or portable music player, use black headphones instead of white headphones to make them less noticeable and try to clutch the item inside a backpack, purse or jacket.
» If carrying a purse, hold it tightly and close to your body. If carrying a wallet, keep it in your front pocket.
