Tag Archives: Block Watch

Announcements

Latest Neighborhood Crime Prevention Information

This just received from Terrie Johnston, Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coordinator, SPD North Precinct:

Dear Block Captains and Contacts:  SPD and SFD want to remind you that fireworks are illegal in the City of Seattle.  The possession, manufacture, storage, sale, handling and use of fireworks are prohibited.  Fireworks offenses are gross misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.  Fireworks pose a fire hazard to property and present a safety risk to those who use them.  Every year the Seattle Fire Department responds to fireworks-related fires and injuries.  The holiday related fires and injuries are preventable.

Our 9-1-1 center becomes overloaded with non-emergency fireworks calls on the 4th of July.  For this day only, DO NOT call 9-1-1 unless you have a life-threatening emergency and need immediate help from police, fire or medics.  If you know me or my work, you know that it is my constant endeavor to encourage the public to use 9-1-1 to report suspicious circumstances, in addition to reporting crime.  HOWEVER,  my message applies to all days of the year except July 4th.  This is the busiest day of the year for our Call Center. Reports of fireworks; barking dogs; drunken parties; gunshots fired; boating mishaps;  burns, noise complaints, etc. are commonplace during this holiday.  Delays in dispatch are a reality. If possible use the 625-5011 line to report any fireworks violations.

Our car prowl reports continue, and may even increase in numbers during the summer.  I’ve attached a tip sheet for preventing car prowls, which I hope you will find helpful.  I’ve seen reports of car prowls around Carkeek Park and Greenlake, and pretty much throughout the other North Precinct neighborhoods.  Here are some of the items reported stolen in a car prowl this month:  Cameras; clothing; wallets; ID; social security cards; cash; car keys; cell. phones; MP3 player, coins, laptops, suitcases, gym bags, power tools, loaded guns, GPS, catalytic converter, golf clubs  and a  passport.  Try to leave your car empty if possible, and park it in a garage or up in your driveway if you can.

National Night Out will be Tuesday, Aug. 7th this year.  Registration is up and running on our website, www.seattle.gov/police.  Hope you can participate this year.  I am here to help answer any questions you may have about Night Out, Block Watch, crime, etc. 

In an effort to keep you informed and in our constant endeavor to reduce future victimization, we want to let you know that two Level 3 Registered sex offenders have moved onto a block near your North Seattle neighborhood.

Douglas Carter, 46-year-old, black male, 6’3” 220 lbs.  has moved onto the 12000 block of Aurora Ave. N.

Kelly Swanson, 37-year-old, white male, 5’8” 190 lbs. has moved onto the 11000 block of Meridian Ave. N.

Det. Gordon is the detective responsible for verifying their addresses.  Neither of these offenders is under Department of Corrections supervision.  To learn more about these offenders, and for additional safety tips, please visit www.waspc.org and search by their names.  If you have any questions about these offenders, please contact Michelle McRae or Det. Gordon at 684-5581 of our Sex Offender Detail Unit. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Daniel Sims, 206-684-7790, daniel.sims@seattle.gov
Michael May, 206-684-8056, mailto:michael.may@seattle.gov,

Paint Out Graffiti in Your Neighborhood
Summer Paint Out Runs July – August

SEATTLE – Summer is here and Seattleites are gearing up to take part in the anti-graffiti program – Summer Paint Out.

Summer Paint Out, in its second year, runs from July through August.

Whether you are a group or an individual, you can tackle graffiti in your neighborhood. The City of Seattle supports volunteers with FREE paint (white-brown-gray), rollers, brushes, scrapers, and gloves.

Get signed up today. Go to www.seattle.gov/util/SummerPaintOut. You can also e-mail mailto:daniel.sims@seattle.gov or call 206-684-7790.

Supplies can be picked up on the following Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is required first.

July 7
July 21
August 4
August 18

Learn more about Seattle Public Utilities at: www.seattle.gov/util.

Follow SPU on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SeattleSPU.

In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area, SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region’s environmental resources.

-SPU-

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Block Watch Crime Prevention Update

We received the following from Terrie Johnston, North Precinct Community Crime Prevention Coordinator:

Dear Block Captains/Contacts:

Hope those of you who participated in our 27th Annual Night Out on August 2nd enjoyed Seattle’s biggest Crime Prevention celebration.   1, 327 blocks registered this year, a 12% increase in participation from last year  (approx. 720 blocks in the North Precinct participated, twice the number of the other  4 precincts combined).  Spectacular!

No big crime trends  to report at this time, however, here are a few tidbits from recent residential burglary reports.  August burglaries occurred during daytime hours, many before noon.  The bulk of the entries are non-forced through open or  unlocked doors and windows.  (Still a few  through dog-doors as previously reported)  I noticed several entries through unlocked garage doors, which can be harder to protect.  If you can access your home through the garage, please think of the door between the garage and house as an exterior door.  They should be solid; wooden or metal with good deadbolt lock and a door frame that is anchored into the wall studs.  Window screens are easy to cut or remove so don’t consider them adequate defense for an open window.  Victims reported they left doors unlocked as they were only walking the dog, or at a nearby park with their kids and didn’t plan on being gone long.  We think 9 minutes is a long time for a burglar to be in your home.  Laptops, jars of coins, jewelry and tools were popular stolen items this month.  One burglar entered an unlocked garage and stole the victim’s car using the valet key left in the glove box of the vehicle.  On 7/30/11 people on Densmore Ave. N. were having a party in their basement and a guest came upstairs to find four burglars inside the house.  They were chased outside and fled in the suspects’ vehicle.    An astute individual reported 2 motorcyclists stuffing their back packs with stuff from a suitcase they later discarded.  The witness gave good descriptions and even a license plate number to 9-1-1.  Officers ended up arresting one of the thieves a short time later near the Home Depot parking lot.  Turned out the motorcycle was stolen.  The suitcases seen had the victim’s name on the ID Tags which helped verify a burglary had occurred; and most of the chase was caught on an in-car camera of the patrol car.   Great work by North Precinct patrol and by the great witness who called in the Suspicious Activity which lead to the arrest.   You are our eyes and ears!

For any questions or to schedule any follow up services, please call me at the North Precinct.  tj

Seattle Police Crime Prevention

206-684-7711

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Burglaries, Car Prowls, Vicinity of 13th and 95th

Update July 21st:

A family in the 12XX block of NW 95th St reports their house was also entered the night of the 17th-18th. The woman heard noises in the kitchen and when investigating found a medium height person in a white tee shirt there. She screamed and the intruder left, leaving behind a dark sweatshirt. Police responded, but as yet no report shows up for the incident.

Update July 20th:

The July 17th 10:30 PM incident and the July 18th 3 AM incident now have substantial narratives in the online police reports (click on the links below to retrieve the amended reports).  From those reports, it is clear the incident reported on the MyBallard forum is the July 18 3 AM incident, and the nearby incident was actually near 110th and Phinney. Also the stolen vehicle from that incident was recovered. The July 18th 3 AM incident was classed as a forced entry because a window screen was removed to enter the house. All three incidents involved minimal or no force to enter, and the residences burglarized were occupied at the time.

A number of burglaries have occurred since July 16th in the vicinity of 13th Ave NW and NW 95th Street. Some of the information presented here is preliminary — police report narratives were not yet available, and some of the information is second hand.

We have confirmed three incidents and there may have been a fourth (to see the police reports, you will need to register):

  • Jul 16 2011, 3 PM, reported Jul 18 2011 THEFT-CARPROWL 12XX BLOCK OF NW 95TH ST (Police Report)
  • Jul 17 2011, 10:30 PM, reported Jul 18 2011 BURGLARY-NOFORCE-RES  92XX BLOCK OF 13TH AVE NW (Police Report)
  • Jul 18 2011, 3 AM, reported Jul 18 2011 BURGLARY-FORCE-RES, VEH-THEFT-AUTO 92XX BLOCK OF 13TH AVE NW (Police Report)

There was also a report in the forum at MyBallard.com which may correspond to the third one above. There is an inconsistency in that the police report indicates a forced entry, but the forum posting indicates entry through an open window. The poster also indicates “The police said that there was another house about 3 blocks away that was robbed shortly before ours.” I haven’t found evidence on the police reports website of that event yet.  The MyBallard forum posting has a great last line:  “… and one ‘amazing’ guard dog is now for sale. ”

A few tips:

  • Lock doors and windows when asleep
  • Report ALL suspicious activity on 911 while the activity is happening. When in doubt whether an activity or person is suspicious, report it. The 911 operators will triage the calls. Also it is a good idea to leave your phone number and address, and ask for the responding officer to contact you.
  • If dialing 911 from a cell phone, be VERY clear of your exact location.
  • Get to know your neighbors front, back, to the sides and diagonally as well. That way you can also alert them.
  • Longer term: consider setting up a block watch and having Terrie Johnston conduct a security audit of your home or business.
  • Sign up for and hold a Night Out Against Crime event on Tuesday August 2nd.

A similar or possibly related case occurred a few weeks ago and is reported here. Crown Hill Neighbors held a Crime and Public Safety Community Meeting on June 23rd and the wrapup includes contact information for and tips from Terrie Johnston (Community Crime Prevention Coordinator) and Scott McGlashan (Community Police Team Officer).

If you have more information about any of these events or related events to share, please feel free to email news@crownhillneighbors.org or reply in the comments below. If you reply in the comments, please do not specify the exact address.

Events

Crime Prevention & Public Safety Meeting, June 23rd, 2011

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Tired of reading about crime? It’s time to learn what you can do to keep your home, family and community safe. The Crown Hill Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a community meeting for residents and businesses to learn about crime in and around your neighborhood. Find out how to start up a BlockWatch on your block, and if you already have one, learn what you can do to make it more effective.

We’ll have two representatives from the Seattle Police Department here for a short presentation and to answer questions from the community. Terrie Johnston, Crime Prevention Coordinator, will handle questions about preventing crime from happening in the first place, how to set up that BlockWatch, secure your homes, traveling safely, etc.  Terrie is one of  four remaining Crime Prevention Coordinators in the Seattle Police Department.  She is assigned to the North Precinct and is available to support neighborhood block watches, assist with property security audits, and help troubleshoot neighborhood public safety issues.  Scott McGlashan, Community Police Officer can fill us in on what kinds of crime we are seeing in the area, how it relates to Seattle overall, and how to interact with the 911 dispatchers when crimes do occur, how to provide useful information to the police, etc. Scott’s beat covers from NW 110th and 3rd Ave NW, south to the Ship Canal and west to the Sound.

Crown Hill Center
Gymnasium
9250 14th Ave NW
Thursday, June 23rd, 7PM

 

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New Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coordinator for the North Precinct

The Seattle Police Department recently announced they secured grant funding for four neighborhood crime prevention coordinators until the end of 2011. Formerly there were six coordinators.  Neil Hansen who helped many of us set up block watches, gave great tips on securing our property, and was a familiar sight at the Ballard District Council, retired a few months ago. The new coordinator for our area is Terrie Johnston.

According to the city’s Crime Prevention Coordinator’s web site, you can contact Terrie to:

  • Set up a Block Watch meeting for your block.
  • Talk about ongoing crime problems and work to resolve the crime on your block.
  • Set up a “Block Tour” so everyone understands the problems on your block.

Also on that site, are links to other crime prevention information and publications.

Terrie’s contact information:

Terrie Johnston
(206) 684-7711
terrie.johnston@seattle.gov