Criminals are targeting valet stands in the nation’s capital, and that has the D.C. urging those who park cars to rethink how they do business.
Since last Thursday, at least two restaurants have seen thieves run up to valet stands and steal the keys of several vehicles.
In their aftermath, Pamela Smith, acting D.C. police chief, said her officers have been educating businesses on best practices when it comes to handling keys.
“Our community engagement officers have been going out to the businesses … where our valets are located to ensure that they look for a different place or measure in order to put those keys, so they’re not readily accessible to someone to actually walk up and grab it, and then take it,” Smith said.
The most recent theft happened on Saturday night at the valet stand at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse on I Street. A person came up and grabbed keys that were sitting on the table and ran off. Fobs for a Maserati, Honda and Kia were reported stolen.
On Thursday night at Kitchen Cocktails also on I Street, police said four men drove up in an Infiniti Q50S and while some of the passengers distracted the valet, others stole keys from the stand. A police report said one person tried to intervene with the group stealing a BMW and was beaten.
According to Smith, in response to those crimes and others, the police department beefed up its presence in several parts of the city, including the U Street corridor.
“We are working very tirelessly to ensure we have the appropriate personnel in those spaces, in places where we’ve seen an uptick in crime,” Smith said.
“This is not Mayberry. There’s really no Mayberrys anymore,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
Bowser supported the police department’s approach of educating businesses on the safe storage of keys and reminded others that one shouldn’t leave their valuables in plain sight.
“If you make it less easy to steal your keys, then we probably will have fewer keys stolen,” Bowser said.
Bowser also said the city won’t allow for “lawlessness” and that the search will continue for those who stole the keys.
