Most everyone has a smart phone these days, and plenty of people aren't discrete about using them out in the open. But for D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, every smart phone user is a potential victim, and today she joined Mayor Vince Gray in warning of a citywide uptick in robberies and thefts of phones and other electronic gadgets. more ›

Morning Washington. It's the holiday party season, and I'm sure many of you, along with me, are recovering from one of the many holiday parties on your calendar this month. more ›

Metro Transit Police say they are well aware of the uptick in thefts of electronic devices like iPods and smart phones on the Metrorail system. Reports of such robberies went way up in 2009, with 894, compared to 581 in 2008. This year, there were 122 reported robberies on the Metro system in January alone. more ›

Robberies on the Metro system went up by a whopping 50 percent in the last year, Freeman Klopott reports in the Examiner. We'd been seeing a number of warnings about an uptick in Metro crime over the last few months, but this is the first time we've seen the numbers for 2009, 805 robberies from January through November, compared to the same time period during the previous year, 538 in 2008. And in 2007? 397. So Metro crime has doubled in just two years. more ›

Police Third District Inspector Edward Delgado sent this message out to Columbia Heights residents this morning via the 3D email list:

I find it to be my responsibility to alert you of a new trend (Home Invasion) within the Washington region that could pose a threat to the Columbia Heights Neighborhood. The common method of operation is that someone unexpectedly either knocks or bangs on your door. Upon opening the door to ascertain what the emergency is, they rush in and announce a robbery. I ask that if your front door is not equipped with a peep hole or similar device that you have one installed. If you feel uncomfortable with a person at your door please call 911 and advise them you have someone at your door and that they are trying to get in. more ›

The AP is reporting that a Maryland man was shot and killed late Friday night at 3012 Georgia Avenue NW. Details are scant, but what is known is that nineteen-year-old Arthur Gale of Suitland was found behind a building with multiple gunshot wounds after police responded to a call of gunshots on the 700 block of Columbia Road. There's no word whether Gale was in the area for Howard's homecoming ceremonies or not. Police are asking anyone with information about the homicide to contact them at (202) 727-9099. more ›

Check out this string of robberies listed in the Northwest D.C. portion of today's WaPo crime report:

GIRARD ST.,1100 block, 2:24 p.m. July 15. A male approached a pedestrian from behind, snatched her purse and fled. more ›