A Transit Police officer patrols at Broadway Junction Friday morning. Photo by Jonathan Mena for BushwickBK

NYPD Transit Police have increased their presence along the L and M lines in Bushwick after a spike of snatch-and-run robberies at some stations.

The Myrtle-Broadway JMZ stop in particular has seen a "high" number of robberies for the year, according to Commanding Officer Hank Sautner.

"Opportunists wait for the [train] door to close and snatch devices from passengers," said Sautner. "We are having problems with the elevated train stops because the perp can snatch an iPod and be on the street faster than at an underground station."

"So far we have seven reported robberies for Myrtle-Broadway. This is unusually high for that station," said Sautner, who runs the District 33 Transit Police, for the L, M, J, Z, A, and C lines in Brooklyn. Although Sautner claims District 33 has seen a 33% drop in crime throughout its confines, the Bushwick lines have seen a surge of robberies and larcenies since the start of the year.

At the March 83rd Precinct community meeting, Sautner told the crowd that he has been working directly with Deputy Inspector Capasso of the 83rd to try to bring the crime numbers down in the area.

"Crime is up 7.7% and that is directly tied to robberies," said Capasso, comparing to last year’s data.

With iPhones and Blackberrys being the target of choice for robbers, Sautner said he was flooding the L line with undercover officers and paying particular attention to the stops from Myrtle-Wyckoff to Broadway Junction on the L, and the Myrtle-Broadway JMZ stop.

"Everyone needs to be more vigilant on the train. They are targeting people who are not aware of their surroundings and making off with their phones," said Sautner.