West Seattle Crime Watch: Neighbor power, again

January 27, 2011 at 2:31 pm | In Crime, West Seattle news | 8 Comments

Another burglary arrest confirmed by Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen:

We just arrested a subject for Investigation of Burglary in the 8400 blk of 18th Ave SW.  Big kudos to the observant citizens  who reported suspicious activity in the neighborhood.  Our officers were able to quickly respond and apprehend the suspect.  The suspect will be booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary.  Thank you West Seattlites for taking good care of your neighborhoods. Your willingness to call 911 helps us catch criminals!

8 Comments

  1. Just curious if anyone can speak to the appropriate way to report suspicious activity. A few weeks ago I saw a guy jumping over a fence into the backyard area of an apartment building near me. It looked pretty odd. I called 911 that time and they acted like I was crank calling them. However, when I’ve called the non-emergency number in the past, it’s like a 5 minute phone menu and no opportunity to actually talk to someone. Online reporting says don’t use it for something that’s happening now or in the past 30 minutes. Can anyone give me the skinny on this?

    Comment by chrisma — 3:25 pm January 27, 2011 #

  2. Chrisma – police have acknowledged that sometimes 911 dispatchers can come off the wrong way, exactly the way you perceived. Their advice: Be firm with them. Maybe even preface with something “I believe I may have seen a potential burglar, just minutes ago.” Stress that it’s happening NOW or JUST happened. Don’t let them brush you off. It’s one thing if you come home to a burglary and it’s clear the burglar is long gone – that’s why they may take a while to send someone if there are NOW incidents the police have to handle first – but if you JUST saw what you said you saw, that should be stressed to dispatchers. – TR

    Comment by WSB — 3:51 pm January 27, 2011 #

  3. When you dial non-emergency….to report a problem that may need police attention, it is number 8. Sometimes you get transfered to the 911 operator…which I didn’t understand but….it is number 8.

    Comment by RJB — 4:11 pm January 27, 2011 #

  4. Thanks SPD for doing such a kicka$$ job always, but especially the last few days. Great work!!!!!

    Comment by ellenater — 4:33 pm January 27, 2011 #

  5. Thanks WSB and RJB. I appreciate the answers. I know there’ve been incidents down here at Morgan Junction and since I’m home a lot of the time, I try to keep an eye on things. I’ll be more firm next time.

    Comment by chrisma — 5:21 pm January 27, 2011 #

  6. Please call 206-625-5011 and at the first menu press option 2 and the second menu press option 8. That will take you to a secondary dispatcher who will help. Please don’t hesitate to call 911 if you can’t get through to the non-emergency line.

    suecee

    Comment by suecee — 6:19 pm January 27, 2011 #

  7. Chrisma
    Our next meeting on Tuesday 2/22 will feature some training on identifying suspicious behavior and how to effectively call 911. Everyone is welcome to attend and you might consider joining the network as well for ongoing information. All contact info is on the website linked above.
    Deb

    Comment by West Seattle Blockwatch Captains' Network — 12:19 pm February 11, 2011 #

  8. Christima, what did he look like? I live in the Morgan Junction area and have seen and read about a guy who prowls the area. Curious if he’s the same guy.

    Comment by D. — 11:58 pm February 15, 2011 #

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