By reporter Steven Smalley
Burglaries, car prowls, break-ins ? it seems these crimes happen in Magnolia more often these days. ?We?re Number One? doesn?t relate so much to football as it does this state?s national ranking for property crime. Believe it.
According to reported new FBI statistics, Washington is highest in the country for property rip-offs. On top of that, it doesn?t help when leaked memos show that Seattle Police lack the staffing to properly investigate these crimes.
In a document never meant to be seen outside the department, local news media was given a peek into some Seattle precincts that have gone from 15 officers assigned to investigate property crime, to a low of three. Unless a miscreant is delivered with a Big Red Bow, some say, these crimes never get solved. It?s no coincidence your call to 9-1-1 is met with less-than-enthusiastic officials. Police response time is now measured in hours, not minutes. Reaction by officers to their plight is routinely no more than a shrug, homeowners report.
Now this….
Some neighborhoods in the city purchase the services of off-duty Seattle cops to ride in their own cars and patrol the streets. Law enforcement officers are paid directly by the residents they safeguard.
Using police radios in communication with SPD dispatch, and carrying firearms, uniformed officers monitor 9-1-1 calls and inevitably arrive at the scene before on-duty cruisers.
For $200 per year, you too can have private protection.
In the Laurelhurst neighborhood, for example, residents experienced a high rate of car break-ins. During one holiday period, 70 neighbors decided to pitch in for additional private patrols as an experiment, according to Brian McMullen, Laurelhurst Community Council trustee and crime prevention coordinator.
?We saw a drop in car prowls, so we decided to expand (private patrols) to half of the neighborhood,? he explained to Magnolia Voice. ?We printed up flyers and dropped them on everybody?s porch ? probably 700 homes. With their response, we were able to get three or four nights a week for the rest of the year.?
Following that success, the coverage was doubled and expanded to the entire neighborhood. Uniformed Seattle police were patrolling Laurelhurst six nights a week.
?We make it known we have the patrol,? McMullen says. ?We hope it?s a deterrent to keep people out of the neighborhood. We try to have one dayshift a week. The rest are varied.?
Some local residents think private patrols could work for Magnolia.
?I hope people consider this and be open to the idea of it,? says Jamie Williams, business owner and long time Magnolia resident. ?A $200 investment is $20 a month for extra security. I like the idea of that.?
As for our top-ranking in property crimes, ?It?s heartbreaking,? she says. ?I feel something should be done about it. Maybe having a private patrol is an answer. It?s unfortunate that it?s come to this, especially with the tax dollars we pay.?
Other neighborhoods are considering the idea of private patrols as well. Whittier Heights is just one.
From the Whittier Heights Patrol Association website: ?Our mission is to bring a subscription based security patrol to the Whittier Heights neighborhood using agency hired off duty law enforcement personnel…Through community meetings it has been determined that the Seattle Police Department, because of staffing issues, is unable to respond to criminal activity?in our neighborhood… Meanwhile?another busy crime season is approaching and we do not have enough security personnel to cover our neighborhood. This is one way we can do something?about this problem.?
In the meantime, Williams hopes the Magnolia community will try the idea. ?It?s your right if you can to protect your neighborhood to participate in something like this,? she says. ?For some of us it means giving up four lattes a month.?
What do you think? Leave a comment.