Southwest Precinct leadership had promised that they would go public with information about how crime prevention would be coordinated in the wake of longtime coordinator Benjamin Kinlow‘s departure. His official retirement date was yesterday; today, the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network is circulating a note from Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn, addressed to the captains, mentioning one of the remaining coordinators in SPD (Mark Solomon, city photo at left) will help with our area, among other things – and promising Block Watch will live on:

The letter:

As most people know, the City of Seattle has been making a number of staffing changes in the recent months. One very important project that has been affected is the Block Watch program. There is no need to fear that the program will go away. The transitioning of people within the City, and the retirement of the person who has been your contact with the City, have caused a hiccough in the coverage of the Block Watch program in West Seattle. There will be someone sliding into the position and taking on the responsibilities previously handled by Benjamin Kinlow. In order to ensure that we are able to continue the quality of service necessary for the block watches in West Seattle in the interim, we would like the Block Watch Captains to do a few small things to assist us.

1. If you are a current Block Watch Captain, please respond to this e-mail with your name address and the boundaries of your block watch. I will take that information to properly gather contact information for the active block watch captains and pass it on to the next Crime Prevention Coordinator when he or she takes on the position. This will allow us to inform you of new news, training, and other resources that you may need in your community.

2. Contact the West Seattle Block Watch Captain’s Network at wsblockwatchnet@gmail.com and let them know that you are a Block Watch Captain in West Seattle. (We work closely with the WSBWCN and they are a big part of great things for the block watch system in the future.)

3. Attend the WSBWCN meetings on the 4th Tuesday of every month at 6:30 pm. (This is a great resource to see who else in your community is a captain and get ideas on how to start, strengthen, and grow your block watch)

4. If you know someone who would like to be a Block Watch Captain in their neighborhood, have them contact Officer Jon Kiehn SPD6904@Seattle.Gov and the captain’s network for now. Officer Kiehn will then hold down the fort until the tasks can be passed to Benjamin’s successor.

5. If you know of a Block Watch Captain who did not receive this e-mail, have them contact Officer Kiehn and the West Seattle Block Watch Captain’s Network as well.

6. Continue the great work of keeping up the strong communication in West Seattle that makes our community so strong.

As we make these transitions, Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon will be taking on Benjamin Kinlow’s position for the time being. To contact Mark, call 206-386-9766 or e-mail Mark.Solomon@Seattle.Gov .

If you have received this e-mail in error, are not longer a block watch captain, or do not want to be a part of this communication process, just respond to this e-mail and let me know.

I thank you for your time and your efforts in making West Seattle such a great place to live, work, and enjoy.

The WS Blockwatch Captains’ Network – which is expanding to include South Park as well, since that’s also served by the Southwest Precinct – is on the web at wsblockwatchnet.wordpress.com. Deb Greer from WSBWCN tells WSB that Mark Solomon will be at next week’s meeting of the group (6:30 pm March 22 at the precinct).