This month there was no guest speaker. Instead, we had reports from the four focus groups charged with selecting and solving specific north end hot spot problems. These groups were set up in response to the NP Captain’s survey that asked us to tell him what our public safety fears and concerns are. The groups are:
- Drugs/Anti-Crime
- Transportation/Mobility safety
- Human Services
- Street lighting
Each group is comprised of a few volunteer NPAC members and an SPD lieutenant. The NPAC members choose a problem and the SPD officer mobilizes SPD as needed. Then the entire team plus the community in which the problem resides work together, including requesting City services as needed.
The first project of the Drugs/Anti-Crime group was a big success. There was a nuisance house at Burke and 137th – drug dealing, rats, garbage in the yard, etc. The focus group worked with police, the bank (the house was in foreclosure) and the community club. The community club raised money to hire a lawyer to evict them. The police made almost daily visits to keep their eye on and discourage the activities. It took several months, but it worked!
If you know of any specific public safety issues that a coordinated effort might solve, let us know at nancy@pinehurstseattle.org. I can submit them to the appropriate focus group.
The entire meeting minutes are here.
Hi Nancy, my cul de sac on NE 125th street (small–just four houses) has experienced one attempted home invasion, two attempted car break-ins (thwarted by alarms), and one successful car theft in the last few months (most recently just this weekend). My neighbors and I feel unsafe in our homes and not prioritized by Seattle Police Department. I know crime has risen in our neighborhood in the recent years and the lack of police attention has made local headlines (http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024924914_westneat02xml.html). What can we as a neighborhood do to bring the severity of this issue to the attention of the Seattle Police Department in a more meaningful way to elicit action? Thank you!
Hi Kaetlin, I responding to your comment by email, using the address you entered (I have admin privs so I can see it!). If you didn’t get the email, please write to me at nancy@pinehurstseattle.org and I’ll resend it.