Crime in the Metro system was down overall in 2016, but some crimes are headed in the wrong direction.
Incidents of what the FBI calls "Part I" crimes -- including aggravated assault, arson, burglary, homicide, theft, motor vehicle theft, rape, robbery and human trafficking – dropped 4.7 percent in 2016 from 2015.
Thefts of electronic devices and stolen bikes are down, but violent assaults and crimes in parking lots increased.
"One crime is always one crime too many,” Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik said. “Any time you have a victim of a crime, especially a crime of violence, it's concerning."
The Minnesota Avenue station on the Orange Line in northeast D.C. had the most crimes in 2016, but eight of the rest in the Top 10 are on the Green Line.
View Top 10 Metro Stations for Crime by State in 2016 in a full screen map
Pavlik wants his transit officers to have more technology and communicate with other police jurisdictions.
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"One thing we are looking at is New York City gave every officer a smart-type phone,” he said. “We are looking at something very similar. What can we give our officers so I can share with the Metropolitan Police officer up the street from me?"
In some cases, a suspect’s image quickly could be sent to smartphones with all officers near a crime scene.
Metro Transit Police is always looking to hire more officers, Pavlik said.
"Every police chief in the nation would always want more cops,” he said. “We deploy them as strategically as we can based on our crime numbers."
The new numbers offer some guidance about where those officers should go.
