Putting the brakes on car thefts

Drivers are given dashboard cameras during an event where they were distributed to drivers in an effort to combat a rise in crime, hosted in the parking lot of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. — AP

JEFF Pena contacted his father as soon as he heard that police were passing out auto tracking devices to try to stem a sharp increase in carjackings, auto thefts and other crimes in the US capital.

“It’s just getting crazy out there,” said Pena, whose father, Raul Pena, drives for the rideshare app Lyft. “Especially now because Christmas is coming and nobody has any money.”