Crime Spikes On Metro

The  recession has stuck many parts of our lives. Is crime on the rise?  The Gazette reports robberies on Metro have doubled since 2007.

Robberies on the Metro system soared 50 percent through the first 11 months of 2009 over the same period in 2008, contributing significantly to a jump in overall crime on Metro.

There were 805 robberies in the Metro system from January through November 2009, compared with 538 over the same 11 months in the previous year. Statistics released by transit police show that during that same time period in 2007 there were 397. That means robberies have jumped 103 percent in two years.

The increase in robberies drove overall crime up on the Metro system by 12.5 percent during the first 11 months of 2009 over the same period in 2008. Assaults, larcenies and motor-vehicle theft all remained the same or dropped slightly in the year-over-year comparison.

Acting transit Chief of Police Jeff Delinski said robbers who snatch electronic devices from unsuspecting riders are the driving force behind the rise in the robberies. As small electronic devices have become prolific in society, so too have the criminals who seek to steal them, Delinski said.



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