Metro To Have Cameras Outside All 86 Rail Stations
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Surveillance cameras are being installed outside Metro's 86 rail stations to thwart crime.
Officials said Thursday that a $2.8 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security will be used to purchase 105 color cameras. Installation was expected to begin by Friday. The cameras will be the first to film the exterior of the entrances to Metro stations.
The agency's police say robberies and larcenies in and around rail stations have increased from 800 to 1,000 from 2009 to 2010.
Metro has been concerned about teenagers hanging around the stations, saying the youth committed 27 percent of the crimes during that period.
Authorities say a 23-year-old man was stabbed by teenagers on the evening of March 9 outside the Gallery Place-Chinatown station.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
