Robberies are up on Pennsylvania Avenue between 21st and 24th streets over the last 60 days, a Metropolitan Police Department official said Wednesday at the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A meeting.

Sgt. Dustin Nevel, an evening patrol sergeant, said officers are focusing on the area. Nevel said one reason crime may be up in that area is because of its proximity to the Foggy Bottom Metro station.

“Suspects are most likely fleeing on the Metro,” Nevel said. “We’re going to be pulling video.”

Most of the robberies have occurred between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., the evening rush hour, Nevel said. Ten officers have been assigned to patrol the area during the evening shift and 10 to the midnight shift, while the number of officers in the day have been reduced.

There have been 16 violent crimes in the entire ANC 2A area since May 15, according to data from the MPD crime map Web site. Seven of those crimes occurred on Pennsylvania Avenue, and there were also several thefts reported in the area. According to the map, total violent crime in ANC 2A is up 60 percent from the same time period last year.

Most of that increase came between May 15 and June 15. Since June 15, there have been five violent crimes in the area, compared to four from the same time last year.

An earlier effort to curb theft from cars in the area has seen success. Eleven thefts from cars between May 15 and June 15 was reduced to seven thefts between June 15 and July 15, according to the crime map.

Despite the jump in robberies, the Police Service Area 207, where GW is located, was given an award in June for the highest reduction in crime of all seven police districts, Nevel said.