The Metro Transit Police Department is increasing enforcement efforts throughout D.C.'s Metrorail system in an attempt to stem a recent rise in robberies, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced last week.
Police will monitor the entire rail system and will increase their security presence in areas where they observe heightened levels of activity, said WMATA spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.
The number of robberies in the Metrorail system rose nearly 15 percent last year - from 352 robberies in 2006 to 414 robberies in 2007. The most commonly stolen items were electronic devices. In 2007, people reported 58 portable music players and 59 cell phones stolen throughout the system, according to a WMATA press release.
Meg Imholt, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences, said someone stole her wallet recently while she was commuting to school on Metrorail.
"It's nerve-wracking," she said. "Commuting is something I do every day and [being robbed] hadn't really crossed my mind, but now I am going to be more careful."
Taubenkibel said he could not specify which areas of the system the Metro police would target because of security concerns. However, he did say the department would provide information and safety tips to riders throughout the system to raise awareness of the situation.
Metro police will also distribute free identification decals for electronic devices, which riders can then register into a national database to make it easier to recover stolen items.
Imholt said that although she had some reservations about the idea, she would consider registering some of her items through the system.
"[The labeling system] sounds kind of 'big brother'-ish," she said.
However, she said she would also want to be able to recover her items.
The increase in robberies is a trend being experienced throughout the D.C. metropolitan area, Taubenkibel said.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department's Web site, the number of robberies in January 2007 increased 16 percent from the number of robberies occurring during the same month in 2006.
