Photo by Victoria Pickering

This post has been updated to correct the description of the outside firm’s work.

With an eight percent increase in crimes on Metro and a 69 percent increase in those at bus stops last year, in addition to several recent high-profile incidents of violence, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld and Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik announced today that they are increasing patrols around the system.

The measures include adding 17 more officers to patrols, hiring an outside firm to handle the protection of cash and the revenue processing center, beefing up security during certain times of the day, and assigning officers on limited duty to do visual surveillance.

“Every Metro rider deserves to be able to travel freely without fear, and we will take all appropriate steps to reassure riders and respond to crime trends,” Pavlik said in a statement. “At the General Manager’s direction, we will take immediate steps to increase patrols using our existing resources.”

By hiring an outside firm to protect money as it is moved from stations, Transit Police officers can focus on traditional police work. And WMATA can reassign 17 officers to their patrol operations division.

Metro also says its new “power hour” deployments can increase the number of officers on duty by up to 100 percent by overlapping day and evening shifts on certain days or locations. “The number of officers on duty can nearly double during hours when patrol coverage is needed most (i.e. during late-afternoon and evening hours),” the agency said.

And officers who can only do “limited duty” will be deployed, either in high-visibility vests or in casual clothes, to stations with high crime rates. There they can keep watch and radio on-duty MTPD officers if needed.

Pavlik has also said that transit officers’ uniforms will be changing soon “so officers will be more visible, hopefully deterring criminals,” telling NBC4 that police will also focus more on crimes that happen on trains.

A five-year crime report released by Metro Transit Police showed nearly 100 more serious crimes recorded in 2015 than the previous year. The incidences include aggravated assault, arson, attempted motor vehicle theft, burglary, homicide, larceny, larceny (snatch/pickpocket), motor vehicle theft, rape, and robbery.

Two days ago, a 24-year-old man was shot at the Anacostia Metro. This year has also already seen several major brawls on trains or at stations.