This Week in Crime: Fairfax Police Come Up With Awesome Name to Combat Reston Car Break-Ins

Whether it's a military expedition in a sandy country or police officers looking for people trying to boost iPods from parked cars, we love a good, testosterone-fueled name. And the Reston district station came up with an awesome one for its recent efforts to stem a spate of car break-ins: Operation Night Prowler. Sweet!

From June 19 to July 14, officers from the Reston District Station conducted "Operation Night Prowler" in order to identify and arrest offenders responsible for vehicle tamperings and larcenies from vehicles. This operation was implemented to combat the increase in vehicle tamperings and larcenies from vehicles that occurred during the spring. Reston officers were deployed in an undercover capacity and their efforts were directed in hot spots where these types of crime appeared to be most concentrated.

From April 1 to may 31, there were 87 larcenies from vehicles and 48 vehicle tampering cases reported to the police. More than half of these particular crimes occurred in May alone. (50 larcenies from vehicles and 25 vehicle tamperings).

During "Operation Night Prowler", we saw a 38% reduction in larcenies from vehicles and a 48% reduction in vehicle tampering cases. (31 larcenies from vehicles and 13 vehicle tamperings).

Police say they arrested 13 people during the operation, including several for "quality of life crimes," which we assume are more serious than painting the exterior trim of a house the wrong shade of tan.