WMATA's crime statistics
I had wondered if local police agencies (rather than Metro's own transit police) can respond to crimes on Metro. It turns out they can and often do. On many occasions, local and Metro police respond to a crime on Metro property, and they then decide which agency will take the lead in the investigation.
If the local police agency takes over the investigation, then Metro does not include it in its crime tally, a policy which the Washington Post rather heavily spins as "At Metro, Some Crimes Don't Count." The chief says this policy is in place to avoid double-counting of crimes--if local police handle a crime, then it shows up in the local agency's statistics. However, at least two Metro board members are dismayed about the policy, saying they want to know about all crimes on Metro, and the board chairman says he wants the chief to include all crimes in her reports.
According to the Post, at some stations local agencies handle more crimes than Metro does. During an eighteen-month period at Rockville, the county police handled eight robberies and two aggravated assaults, while Metro police handled one aggravated assault (and presumably no robberies.)
Post Author:
massysett | 9:02 AM |
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