Crime Watch reader report: Burglary on 35th

| Crime | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Karen:

I wanted to let you know that there was a burglary in our Blockwatch area today, in the 5000 block of 35th Ave SW, mid-block, on the west side of the street. It occurred sometime between 7:00 AM & 5:30 PM while the owners were gone. The burglars entered through a window & took small electronics & other things that are easy to carry.

Our Blockwatch area covers a two block area just south of Providence/Mt. St. Vincent, between Dawson & Hudson streets. It is called the Hansen View neighborhood, which is part of Fairmount.

Thanks for getting the word out!

cw June 25, 2008 (7:44 am)

we used to have a block watch till the city shut it down. no one around here seems very interested in going beyond the cheap skates down town. to bad paul allen doesn,t live here, we would have a million dollarblock watch

WSB June 25, 2008 (7:54 am)

I’m curious if you can explain at all, how can the city “shut down” a Block Watch”? I know the crime prevention coordinator at the precinct offers some sort of assistance in setting them up but after that, I always thought (have no personal evidence, I hate to admit) it was up to the citizens to run it and that was the end of city involvement.

Paul June 25, 2008 (8:01 am)

lately I have noticed quite a bit of activity on 35th. Last week we had a few minor issues, most likely kids with time to kill in our Laundry on 35th and Webster. I also noticed that our neighbor across the street had her planters dumped and there has been some building tagging too. I have also questioned younger adults that are lingering in areas they shouldn’t. I can’t say that they are high school age or a bit older, but I have asked them to move on if they are not supposed to be in the area.

westseattledood June 25, 2008 (9:03 am)

Well, I sure don’t know much, but I do recall reading that the Federal Weed and Seed program funding for the Delridge Development Area included Block and Watch programs. The Southwest Precinct/SPD disbursed those annual funds. The DoN (Dept. of Neighborhoods) coordinated it? Am I wrong? Could be. But, I do know that the Weed and Seed funding ends at the end of the year. The SW Precinct and the SPD has been receiving something like $200K annually. I wonder if there are plans in the works for an extension? Is that possible? Anybody know? There IS a White Center/Delridge Safety meeting THursday evening. They would probably know, right?

I know in my area the Block Watch is not super obvious, to say the least. If it even exists. And with the end of the additional Weed and Seed funds, it should be a concern, not just here, but everywhere in Delridge.

Pete June 25, 2008 (9:43 am)

Blockwatch groups are groups of neighbors that come together to help watch out for their other neighbors on that block. There is no City of Seattle or state or federal funds involved in the blockwatch program. Typically it is a group of neighbors that have banded together to help watch out for each other.

The Weed and Seed fudning is a totally different program that targets high crime areas and part of the fudnign goes to bolster law enforcement efforts (weed part) and the other is for community programs to help the community address public safety issues (seed part). It has been a pretty successful program that has helped a lot in the south Delridge and White Center communities.

Block watch groups in West Seattle (along with alert neighbors) have been instrumental in getting the word out to call 911 to report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods. The SW Preccint has publicly thanked residents of West Seattle for being so vigilant in keeping an out for suspicious activity and this has helped them make a number of arrests.

Keep up the good work West Seattle.

kittylove June 25, 2008 (10:20 am)

am i the only person who read this and immediately thought…”the blockwatch obviously didnt work in this instance”?

Alison June 25, 2008 (12:12 pm)

Blockwatch works when people are at home and vigilant. It’s not a perfect solution but there have been many posts on WSB that cite instances of burglaries being thwarted and arrests made. Neighbors looking out for one another is the best tool we have for keeping ourselves and our property safe.

kittylove June 25, 2008 (1:55 pm)

i have no doubt that it works most of the time. it is a great idea. we have to look out for each other since no one is going to do it for us.

i just thought the first sentence seemed ironic.

homedk June 25, 2008 (5:22 pm)

I agree that there is some irony in the first sentence of the report & I was the one who wrote it! Despite the fact that the Hansen View neighborhood has a great sense of community & a strong Blockwatch program, itâ€™s not possible to prevent every incident. We think it helps a lot though.

For those of you who might be interested in setting up a Blockwatch in your own neighborhood, here are some things that weâ€™ve found helpful. First, our neighborhood has several people involved in organizing, so that the effort doesnâ€™t require much time from just one person/household. We are Blockwatch co-captains with another neighbor; we do the written communications/emails & he takes care of communicating information by phone or in person to those not on email. We now have most households in our area on our email list (plus some people from adjacent blocks), so it is very easy to get crime-related updates communicated quickly.

We also have an emergency preparedness committee of several households. We organized through the SNAP program. Weâ€™ve distributed materials & information to all the households, mapped our neighborhoodâ€™s utilities & tried to tie-in with the broader West Seattle efforts such as â€œBe a Master of Disasterâ€. The response to the emergency preparedness effort in our neighborhood has been great, & that in turn has helped build an even better sense of community here. People attended the EP meetings that had never attended any other neighborhood activities.

Our neighborhood also participates in the Night Out event in August. It seems to grow & get more fun each year. Itâ€™s a great way for new people in our neighborhood to get acquainted, & for the long-timers in the neighborhood to visit with friends & make new ones. At the Night Out event, we always make an effort to distribute & gather Blockwatch information.

In closing, here are 3 links that you might find helpful:

http://www9.seattle.gov/police/programs/Blockwatch/default.htm

SW Precinctâ€™s web-page (already linked to on the WSB Crime Watch page): http://www9.seattle.gov/police/precincts/southwest/prevention.htm

http://www.seattle.gov/police/Nightout/Default.htm

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