Transit Police Try to Crack Down on Robbers

With Heists Up More Than 6% Last Year, Special Unit Is Formed to Combat Crime

Transit Police patrolling at the Stadium-Armory Metrorail station last year. A special police unit has arrested 21 robbery suspects in less than two months. (By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)

The number of robberies throughout the Metro transit system increased more than 6 percent last year, prompting Metro police to form a special unit to capture criminals, officials said yesterday.

The number of robberies in the Metro system rose to 354 last year -- nearly one a day -- from 332 robberies in 2005, according to Metro crime statistics. Riders reported thefts of 32 iPods and 82 cellphones, accounting for a third of all robberies.

Metro Transit Police set up the robbery unit in early December, a time of year when criminals take advantage of longer periods of darkness. Robberies also tend to go up during the holiday season because people carry more cash and packages, officials said.

In less than two months, the special unit has arrested 21 robbery suspects, compared with six robbery arrests in the same period the previous year, according to Transit Police spokeswoman Linda Foxwell.

Transit Police Chief Polly Hanson said in a statement that she was "extremely proud" of the robbery unit and would keep it going in 2007. Also last year, a Metro police officer joined an FBI-sponsored regional robbery task force and will continue to share intelligence and tips with other area law enforcement agencies, Metro officials said.

Police officials declined to say how many officers are in Metro's robbery unit and where they work, because they do not want to reveal their methods. Although their focus is on robberies, they are also performing their other Metro police functions, officials said.

"Sometimes they're in casual clothes; sometimes they're at observation points," Foxwell said. "They use a number of deployment methods."

Robberies also rose in the region last year. In Montgomery County, they were up significantly in the first half of 2006, with 584 robberies through June 30, a 37 percent increase over the same period in 2005. Preliminary 2006 figures in Fairfax County showed an increase in robberies of at least 6 percent, while the District's preliminary figures showed that robberies were down about 5 percent from 2005.

Metro's crime report revealed that the total number of serious crimes rose to 1,270 in 2006, up about 11 percent from 1,145 in 2005. Serious crimes include aggravated assault and robberies as well as motor vehicle theft and larceny.

The figures also showed more serious crimes taking place in parking lots, with 812 crimes reported in 2006, an increase of 14 percent from the 714 reported in 2005. Foxwell said most of the crimes in parking lots are vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.