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 ›

Two Metro workers were arrested last night and face charges of stealing over $150,000 from fare machines, a good chunk of which went towards buying lottery tickets. more ›

The amount stolen may be lower, but the crime and provenance of the elected official committing it is the same. more ›

The D.C. Council could take Harry Thomas, Jr.'s name off of the office directory and website, but it won't be as easy to exorcise some of the demons his corruption have revealed. more ›

UPDATED: After a day of conjecture and confusion as to Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr.'s (D-Ward 5) fate yesterday, today federal prosecutors charged him with theft and filing a false tax return. more ›

This morning, a man was arrested inside the Occupy DC encampment at McPherson Square after he was found to have stolen supplies from the group's supply tent. more ›

Sometimes, a fresh quote can really liven up a nine-month-old story. more ›

While the city's homicide rate gets most of the attention as we enter the homestretch of 2011, the frequency of other crimes is certainly worth keeping an eye on. Take robbery, for example. more ›

Some unknown bandits apparently took a joyride in a truck containing $200,000 worth of President Barack Obama's speech gear -- including audio equipment, TelePrompters and "several lecterns with the presidential seal" -- yesterday. more ›

Now, we've seen read about strange attempts at getaways, but here's one for the record books. more ›

In this morning's roundup, we noted that Leslie Charles Waffen, a former National Archives employee, was scheduled to appear in a Maryland court on charges that he stole almost a thousand “sound recording items” belonging to the federal government. Today, Waffen admitted he stole the items, but that really isn't the most interesting part of the story. more ›

No, cops in Columbia Heights are not stopping people on bikes, asking to see proof of ownership and confiscating the bikes if none could be provided. more ›

Metro's board of directors is meeting today, and the conversation has centered on crime. more ›

You might have the idea that bike theft in the District of Columbia is something that occurs under the cloak of darkness or in areas where foot traffic is at a minimum. Of course, that just isn't the case. Take, for example, this video, which shows a thief stealing a bike on a late Thursday afternoon along busy Connecticut Avenue as dozens of pedestrians simply stroll by. more ›

The dognappers, it seems, are more brazen than ever. more ›

WMATA announced this afternoon that Metro Transit Police arrested three individuals – two current Metro employees, and one former employee (UPDATE: and one more!) – on theft charges. more ›

A group of five teenagers reportedly broke into and ransacked a D.C. firehouse while firefighters were on a call Tuesday morning. more ›

Bike theft in D.C. has always been a big problem, but when summer crests and more people are out and about on two wheels, it feels like the thieves start getting braver. Well, one Bloomingdale resident wasn't about to let one teenager get away with walking into his neighbor's yard and swiping a bike yesterday afternoon. more ›

Back in January, we noted that Rick Kelsey, a former teacher at McKinley Technology High School, was charged with stealing $13,000 in laptops from the school. Those laptops are believed to have been purchased with a portion of a $100,000 grant meant to fund the McKinley students' efforts to teach senior citizens how use the Internet. Now Kelsey -- whose defenders couldn't really get their stories straight before he pleaded guilty to the theft in January -- might be in more hot water: the case has now been passed along to the feds. more ›

Well, here's a new one: Kytja Weir reports that a Metro supervisor, who had been hoarding over 70 pieces of Metro-owned equipment like computer monitors, cameras and a generator inside his home, will not face any criminal charges because -- wait for it -- WMATA "may have served to create an atmosphere where such behavior, although not explicitly condoned or excused, was part of an implicitly tolerated practice." more ›

The Examiner reports that Rick Kelsey, a former teacher at McKinley Technology High School, has been charged with stealing a portion of a $100,000 grant meant to fund the McKinley students' efforts to teach senior citizens how use the internet. Police arrested Kelsey this morning after a month-long investigation into the grant spending -- one teacher who was questioned by school investigators said that it was "the biggest case of fraud, waste, and abuse that he's ever seen." Of course, the most interesting part of the story is probably how Kelsey's defenders contradict themselves when they try to proclaim his innocence: Kelsey's wife claims that Kelsey spent appropriately and submitted expense reports to the school system; the man who wrote the grant application, meanwhile, said that Kelsey couldn't have been guilty because he "had no ability to move any money, to spend any money." Whoops. more ›

Stealing presents from children on Christmas Eve is about as low as it gets. But fortunately for one family, Lieutenant Vincent Turner was working the Christmas Eve shift. more ›

WTOP reports that Maryland prosecutors have notched another guilty plea in the Brian Betts murder case. Artura Otey Williams, the mother of a teen who pled guilty to robbing Betts with a handgun, pled guilty on Tuesday to using credit cards which were stolen from Betts after his death. Williams used a card that belonged to Betts to make various purchases at Giant, Shoppers Food Warehouse and Foot Locker -- she plead guilty to two charges of theft, each carrying a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison. Williams' admission of guilt is the fourth in connection with the Betts case -- the trial of Deontra Gray, the lone holdout, is scheduled to start after the New Year. Betts, the 42-year-old former principal of Shaw Middle School, was found dead in his Silver Spring home in April. more ›

Robbers made off with approximately $350,000 in jewels following a theft in a Super 8 Motel in Dumfries, VA Thursday morning. The theft is probably the highest-dollar robbery in Prince William County. The victim said two men approached him in his car in the parking lot of the motel, showed a gun, and demanded all of his property. One of the suspects broke the passenger-side window and took a cell phone and a suitcase full of jewelry. It appears that this was a targeted attack, as the victim, who is from Great Neck, NY, was in the area on business with the jewelry. more ›

Many D.C. residents have had something stolen from them at one point or another. But did you know that the Metropolitan Police Department participates in an initiative called "Operation ID," which can help you get your possessions back? It's a simple system: MPD will give you a free ultraviolet pen, which you then use to mark your stuff with something identifiable, like your last name and driver's license number. When the cops make a bust, they'll scan the recovered goods -- officers are trained to look in certain areas depending on the item -- and, if there's a notation, they'll be able to reunite you with your belongings. It's hardly a perfect system (the ink can smudge and criminals probably can get their hands on a black light with ease), but hey, something's better than nothing, right? more ›

D.C.'s iPhone bandits are out in full force: MPD Commander Matt Klein sent an email to residents of the Second District last night to remind them that iPhones make an incredibly tantalizing target for thieves, as they can be quickly wiped and resold for fast cash. Klein said that over the last three days, the Second District alone has had six reports of stolen iPhones, even a couple with the same daring MO -- an individual engages the victim in conversation, asks to use their phone for directions, then runs off with it once its in their hands. For those with iPhones concerned about personal data, you can set your phone to automatically delete personal data after ten failed logins. But the best crime prevention strategy here is probably just good old common sense -- like not handing your shiny phone over to the complete stranger you just met on the street. more ›

Thieves smashed a basement window to enter the house in the quiet Northeast neighborhood of Woodridge sometime between 9am and 4 pm. They stole television sets, laptop computers, electronics. Those can be replaced. Chuma cannot. more ›

The Metropolitan Police Department has released a photo of two possible persons of interest in Thursday's alleged theft of an SUV with a 1-year-old child inside. The infant was eventually found safe and sound inside the vehicle in the 200 block of N Street NW, a few blocks from where the car was taken, near North Capitol and P streets NW, police said. more ›

Not many straight news stories merit a headline with an exclamation point, but this one just might qualify as an acceptable exception. WTTG/FOX5 reports that a one-year-old child has been recovered safe and sound after the car he was in was stolen off North Capitol Street this morning.

The car was left running and unattended by the mother of the child in the driveway of a home on North Capital Street shortly after 7:00 a.m. more ›

Thieves in Alexandria have made off with over $60,000 thanks to a skimming device that was installed at an ATM at the Wachovia Bank branch at 3624 King Street, Alexandria Police say. more ›