Metro News Release

For immediate release: February 1, 2008

Metro Transit Police Department launches 'spotlight on crime' initiative

The Metro Transit Police Department launched "spotlight on crime," an initiative to reach out to Metro riders who travel in the early morning and evening hours, on Thursday, January 31, at the Southern Ave Metrorail station.

At the first spotlight on crime, about a dozen Metro Transit Police officers, on foot and in marked vehicles, illuminated the Southern Ave Metrorail station with the lights from a portable observation tower and several police vehicles. They talked with Metro riders about their safety concerns and provided safe travel tips to customers in the station, bus bay and parking lot.

Spotlight on crime targets Metro riders who travel when it’s still dark outside, a time when criminals use darkness to their advantage as it gives them places to hide. The initiative aims to heighten awareness among Metro riders, strengthen the partnership between Metro police and Metro riders, and signal would-be criminals that police and citizens are on the lookout.

News release issued at 2:25 pm, February 1, 2008.