Comments on: West Seattle Crime Watch: Students robbed; truck stolen; car found

By: 36th ave sw

36th ave sw — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:33:07 +0000

Doesn’t mean fights over its still you responsibility to be vigilante, and for all we know it was neighbors who called it in and made this all happen…

By: alboss

alboss — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:05:34 +0000

These people will be caught. How about if we help that happen?
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Armed robbery of kids makes people uncomfortable. Somebody out there knows who these robbers are, and is at least a little creeped out by it.
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Heavy publicity of an anonymous tip line might be all we need to get that person talking. If not, given the effect this is having on our neighborhood businesses and residences, I bet we’d have no trouble raising enough of a reward to be motivational.
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Would one of the police or other city-community groups be able to shepherd this, or would it need to be citizen-driven?

By: alkiobserver

alkiobserver — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:07:39 +0000

The punks perpetrating these crimes are clearly not the brightest. The scumbags will be caught. I have faith in that. What I don’t have faith in is the punishment they will face. These wastes need to be severely punished and the guns they have been using to carry out their crimes melted.

By: datamuse

datamuse — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:26:12 +0000

pjmanley, your point about going outside and spending time outdoors in your neighborhood is a good one. I rarely encounter my neighbors outdoors in Highland Park, even after dark, despite having lived there for over 13 years. Go outside. Say hello to people.
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rumtussle, whenever I see assertions like yours my immediate reaction is to ask for evidence. Again, while crime still occurs, overall crime levels are dropping all over the country. Even Detroit is improving, to cite somebody or other’s favorite example. Statistically, this is a safer time to live in America than it’s ever been. It’s certainly safer than most other countries I’ve visited. (I agree with you about community engagement, though.)
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Case in point: the Middle Fork area in Snoqualmie Pass. That was a place full of meth labs and other nefarious activity…years ago. Now it’s pretty quiet, with a family-oriented campground and lots of hiking trails, not to mention Goldmyer Hot Springs.
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Frankly I think the tendency to go full-bore apocalyptic every time something like this happens can do more harm to the community than the incidents themselves.

By: rumtussle

rumtussle — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:44:24 +0000

The illusion of safety is disappearing all over the United States, and has been for some while now. With meth labs in the countryside and rising gang activity in rural areas, I don’t think we can speak of this kind of mugging as solely a problem of geography. What we do have in West Seattle is an opportunity to build a regional sense of community (through tools like neighborhood clean-ups, neighborhood email lists and this blog) so that acts of violence are the exception rather than the rule.

By: pjmanley

pjmanley — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:07:37 +0000

The CD used to be deadly in the late 80′s and early 90′s, until the community, especially moms, dads, and grandmas, started forming groups to confront the drug dealers on their corners, expose them for who and what they were, and drove them off – many to Kent & Renton, unfortunately. But they dispensed with apathy and excuse-making (enabling) and confronted the issues head on, driving the crime rate down significantly, and fast. We must clean or paint over graffiti immediately, recognizing the nature of such territorial pissing for what it is: A mark. Do not call it ART! If you let those dogs “mark” your territory, they will soon own it. Broken Window Theory here folks. West Seattle is still a great place, but it won’t be for long if we don’t diligently and vigilantly rise up and take back our streets, sidewalks, driveways, alleys, and parks. I’m not going anywhere, so I’m all-in on this.

By: pjmanley

pjmanley — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:53:10 +0000

Another cross-flaming thread huh? Folks, the CD may or may not have worse crime, on average, but a spike is a spike, and that’s what we have going on right now. Queen Anne residents have dealt with car prowlers for years, despite living in a pretty nice area. Any decent, quiet area where people park half-decent cars on the street and many turn their porch and alley lights off at night is a target. Why? Because we think we are safer, when in fact, our lack of experience with such crimes makes us less defensive and vigilant, and thus, easier prey.

I’m going on 16 years in my current WS home, and I see more and more people on the sidewalks today than in years past. I walk my dog every night, and it’s not uncommon to see SPD searching my neighborhood for an armed robber who just mugged a person that stepped off the bus along California Ave. Local criminals from anywhere in Seattle, Tukwila, Federal Way or anywhere within a half hour can come over here and clean house, until we rise up as a community, change our behaviors, and start taking it more seriously than just phoning in our insurance claim the next day. Turn off the TV, go outside after dark, take your valuables out of your car, install a hidden trigger switch on your ignition so they can’t start, then steal your car, turn on your damn porchlights and leave them on (my personal pet peeve!)

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 05:24:01 +0000

Don’t these robbers have family, friends, and neighbors who don’t have some inkling of what these guys are up too? They should turn them in.

By: Jo Beth

Jo Beth — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:49:10 +0000

Robert- please do not blame Californians for these incidents. For all you know and most likely this boys are Seattle natives. Just because California has more crime and bustling cities doesn’t mean people are migrating up here. Maybe Seattle natives should take a chill pill and realize that we are a growing city and there will be crime every once and a while. We have nearly ZERO crime compared to some cities so why doesn’t everyone deal with it and stop making a fuss and take it as a personal attack every time someone steals grandmas purse.

By: WSB

WSB — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:07:09 +0000

DM, you are correct. Crime is NOT getting worse. We report it because we believe firmly that “knowledge is power” but in the past, you just might not have heard. is that good or bad? I assume the folks who come to WSB want to know. But it’s NOT worse. Check the data on SPD site. – TR

By: datamuse

datamuse — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:01:52 +0000

The part I take issue with is the assertion that crime is on the increase. The data I’ve seen says that if anything, it’s going down. I get deciding to move on because you don’t want to be here anymore, but I’d check your perception that crime is going up when what’s really increased is reporting on and attention to crime. That’s a GOOD thing: it means people know what’s going on and can take action to respond to and prevent it.
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This is undoubtedly a scary incident and I’m really glad none of these kids were hurt. Matt McBride has the right idea and I hope that those of you who live in the neighborhood take him up on his offer. I’m over in Highland Park and HPAC has done some great stuff, including fostering community engagement.
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Getting worse? At least I haven’t been awakened by a SWAT team wanting to have a conversation with my neighbors lately.

By: jmac

jmac — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:32:53 +0000

I moved to the North Delridge area from Hilltop in Tacoma, and was living in the Central District before that. I remembered West Seattle to be a safe, suburban area, and have been surprised and what i’ve seen since I moved to the area. Crime definitely has jumped up here. I don’t feel it’s as bad as the CD, but it’s still gotten worse than I remembered. Thanks Mat Mcbride – that is definitely what the area needs. I personally like the diversity that these neighborhoods – which are filled with hard working people and a few bad apples – have to offer.

By: H

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:42:41 +0000

I have lived here for 10 years now and WS has changed considerably. And yes it does suck.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:54:35 +0000

Highly encourage readers and commenters to take up Mat Mcbride’s offer as he posted above. It will help, a lot. Mat is great and has a lot to offer.
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FWIW – It took the formation of a neighborhood council several years ago in the North Delridge area to begin to address a lot similar issues that Roxhill is dealing with. Is North Delridge now a utopia? Nope. But I would say that from this persons perspective, public safety has been improved. It doesn’t come easy, but it is worth the effort. Tenacity is key.

By: comment

comment — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 10:01:57 +0000

Yes, there are places much worse than ws, like the cliche that is Detroit, but that is horrible logic to accept this increase in crime. There are plenty of places out there with much better track records than us, but no place is perfect, and it all boils down to balancing an area’s pros and cons with your personal preferences. Personally, I’m tired of living around this many people.