WASHINGTON — Drivers slowing down, hoping to be pulled over. Tuesday night Navy Yard hosted a different kind of checkpoint that was less "license and registration" and more tech support.
"iPhone or Android?" one Metropolitan Police Department officer leaned into a passenger window to ask the driver.
"This is very simple. Do you have AirPods or anything like that?" another officer asked another driver in a steady line of cars.
As car thefts and carjackings continue to be a problem in the District, MPD are giving away Apple AirTags and Tiles - devices that connect to smartphones to track the location of whatever object the tags are attached to.
The goal is to help drivers track their cars should they be stolen.
"We've had a lot of friends in the area actually have problems with break-ins and their cars being stolen," said Sally Sroge who lives in Navy Yard. "I actually had a close friend move out of D.C. because of it."
According to DC Police crime stats, motor vehicle theft is up 100% when compared to the same time last year.
Police say if a car is stolen drivers should call 911 and can choose to share the tracking location with information with officers. MPD says the department will not have access to the data on its own.
"Because they have the ability to be tracked we can kind of see what path they went," explained Sergeant Anthony Walsh. "Are there more cameras that we could look at on buildings that maybe identify who took the property so we can make more apprehensions?"
D.C. police won't say how many of the tracking tags they have to give away but the demand Tuesday night was easy to see. For more than two hours, there was a constant line of cars lined up around the block with drivers waiting for the giveaway.
"At this point we're really stopping it so, trying to prevent is going to be the answer for now," said Sroge who added she didn't expect she would have to worry about car thefts when she moved into the posh Navy Yard neighborhood.
"Especially for the prices we pay in parking," she said.
Only D.C. residents in six Police Service Areas are eligible - PSAs 106, 501, 502, 603, 605 and 606.
More giveaway events are scheduled for November 8 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 1309 5th Street, NE and on November 9 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 3200 Pennsylvania Ave., SE.
Only one tag per driver. District residents can look up their PSA here.
"We're going to give them out until they're gone. First come first serve," said Sergeant Walsh.