from our ANC representative, Jack McKay:

Thefts from auto have been a plague here, and in many other DC neighborhoods, forever. It’s just too easy to bust into a car, snatch whatever’s there, and run off.

No clues are left behind, and the police don’t invest much effort in trying to solve such a minor crime. Thieves breaking into cars are usually caught only when an alert neighbor happens to spot one in the act.

Mount Pleasant averages about 10 such thefts a month. That’s about half the rate of 10 years ago. In March, there was a flurry of thefts from auto, totalling 21 for the month. That’s more than the 10 “normal”, but not spectacularly so.

What was remarkable was a rash of 9 of these on one night, that of March 27-28:

(1) 3402 – 3451 block of Mount Pleasant Street
(2) 1800 – 1899 block of Monroe Street
(3) 1800 – 1899 block of Newton Street
(4) 3200 – 3233 block of 19th Street
(5) 1800 – 1899 block of Monroe Street
(6) 3200 – 3233 block of 19th Street
(7) 3200 – 3233 block of 19th Street
(8) 1800 – 1999 block of Ingleside Terrace
(9) 1700 – 1799 block of Kilbourne Place

Nine in one night – most of them within a few blocks! That’s something I’ve never seen before. This was more vandalism than theft, as the perps damaged cars that were unlocked, and cars that contained nothing of value.

As for the rest of the month, aside from this one-night rampage, there were 12 thefts from auto, which is about average for a month.

for the record, our the reason our car is in the shop is because we’re #3 on the list above.

well, that and because there were two recalls on our prius, and our headlight was out, and we haven’t had an oil change or service in the last 15,000 miles.

but, besides that, everything is great.