“Insurance Rep told me it was the THIRD call this morning where a car was broken into in DC and only the Visitor Parking Permit was taken”

A reader reports:

“My car window was broken out this morning on P St SW, about 3 blocks from the Waterfront Metro. Only the Visitor Parking Permit was taken from the vehicle, and no other “valuables” (I live in Columbia Heights so I know enough not to leave anything visible in my car). What is interesting is that when I called my insurance company, the rep who answered told me it was the THIRD call that he alone had received this morning where a car was broken into in DC and only the Visitor Parking Permit was taken.

In one case, he said a woman left a backpack on her front seat and it was not touched. Shortly after the police came, a woman stopped me on the street to say that she saw several other cars with shattered windows in the neighborhood this morning. I filed a police report, and while the officer was extremely nice & professional, he said that they would not actively be looking for the parking permit.

I understand the crime is relatively minor, but this is they type of crime that is rampant in this city that seems to go completely unchecked. As the VPPs have unique number identifiers on them and can only be used in relatively small areas, it seems like something that could be theoretically found by Parking Enforcement.

In any event, I’m curious how widespread these break-ins were this morning? And for what purpose? Perhaps to sell to commuters in nearby L’Enfant or to Stadium goers who don’t know you can’t use these more than a few times in a month without the car getting flagged by Parking Enforcement for improper use of the VPP?”