Metro News Release
For immediate release: August 24, 2004
Metro’s August safety and security tip of the month:
Metro Transit Police Department’s Auto Theft Unit successful in reducing crime after one year
Metro Transit Police officers who make up the Auto Theft Unit are celebrating their success after one year. The unit was launched in August 2003. The squad’s accomplishments in the past year include the following statistics:
" From August 2003 through July 2004, the unit made 101 arrests, culminating in 140 felony and 185 misdemeanor charges. In one incident, a subject was arrested after assaulting an officer with a vehicle. In another case, a subject was arrested for an armed car jacking.
" Through its first year, the Metro Transit Police have seen a 26 percent reduction in stolen autos, an 18 percent reduction in theft attempts, and a 23 percent reduction in theft from autos from Metro parking lots.
Recently, the MTPD Auto Theft Unit was recognized by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments with the "Vehicle Theft Unit Award" by the regional Chiefs of Police Motor Vehicle Theft Subcommittee.
"I am extremely proud of the hard work that our Auto Theft Unit has put forth since its inception last year," said Metro Transit Police Chief Polly Hanson. "In the last year, auto theft and thefts from automobiles have been significantly reduced. In the Washington Metropolitan region, auto theft and thefts from automobiles have always been a challenge for law enforcement, and our parking facilities are no exception." The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) implemented a department-wide Auto Theft Unit last year to focus on reducing parking lot crime and take enforcement efforts to reduce auto theft crime in Metro parking lots.
The Auto Theft Unit includes officers in plain clothes, officers on motorcycles, K-9 teams, officers on bicycles, use of portable aerial towers, and Metro employees who are on workers compensation assignments that allow them to work for the Transit Police department as Parking Lot Observers. "While we are pleased that parking lot crime has decreased, we will continue to focus on additional reductions," said Chief Hanson. "We want our customers to know that we’re working hard to reduce auto related crime, and we’ll be continuing our efforts to inform our customers on ways they can prevent auto theft."
The MTPD Auto Theft Unit works varied hours and shifts and targets stations that statistically are impacted by parking lot crime. The Auto Theft Unit also shares information with regional police departments.
To help reduce parking lot crime, the Metro Transit Police offer several suggestions to customers who park at Metro parking facilities. They include:
- Lock all doors of the vehicle and roll up the windows.
- Do not leave anything of value in the vehicle. If something must be left in the vehicle, it should be locked in the trunk, or out of sight.
- Use an anti-theft device such as a steering wheel locking device. This type of layered protection is often a deterrent to would-be thieves.
News release issued on August 24, 2004.