Delivery and rideshare drivers in D.C. will be eligible to get free dash cameras through a new government program, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday. The city will use a $500,000 donation from DoorDash to buy about 5,000 dash cameras for D.C. residents who work as delivery and/or rideshare drivers.

“For drivers who come to restaurants…to pick up orders, drop off dinners – we want them to be able to do that with more security,” Bowser said at a press conference announcing the initiative. “Video evidence is crucial in solving crimes and closing cases, and [also in] deterring crimes.”

Car thefts are up in the District by 118% this year. Interim D.C. Police Chief Ashan Benedict said Wednesday that the city has also seen an uptick in thefts involving delivery drivers – often, he says, people steal the cars while they are left running and unattended as a driver picks up or drops off an order.

“We have heard from those in the [rideshare and delivery] industry that public safety is top of mind, and that is why we are here today — because one innovative solution that has proven effective has been the use of dash cams,” said Salah Czapary, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture. “These cameras provide valuable footage that can greatly increase the likelihood of holding perpetrators accountable.”

The city will distribute the cameras later this summer, and eligible drivers will be able to pick them up at certain designated locations (the city hasn’t said where yet). The process will work similarly to the way D.C. police distributes free steering wheel locks to certain Kia and Hyundai owners (the cars have been increasingly targeted after a method for stealing them spread across social media; residents can check this web page to see if their local police station still has wheel locks).

The announcement of the new dash camera program comes as other forms of security cameras have proliferated across D.C. homes and neighborhoods. The city offers a rebate for people who purchase these cameras for their homes, businesses, nonprofits and religious institutions — and the mayor’s office says the program has sent more than 26,000 private security cameras to homes and businesses to date.

The prevalence of the cameras has given MPD more footage to identify crime suspects and solve crimes, Bowser said Wednesday.

Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah said that both the dash camera program and the private security camera rebate program are part of “making sure that we have as many cameras across the city as possible.”

The announcement of the DoorDash donation and dash camera program comes as Bowser is pushing for the D.C. Council to pass a package of public safety-focused legislation she unveiled last month. The bill would increase penalties for certain gun-related crimes and make pretrial detention the default option for a broader set of crimes.

The bill also has provisions that focus specifically on rideshare workers and on the camera rebate program: It would increase penalties for crimes that target transit and for-hire vehicle workers and increase the amount of reimbursement residents can get for installing private security cameras at their homes.

The D.C. Council is set to hold a public hearing on the legislation on June 27.