West Seattle Crime Watch: Car break-ins; fence, park vandalism; stolen sign; WSCPC tomorrow…

Four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

CAR BREAK-INS: Zale reports neighborhood cars were broken into last night:

They stole our car stereo and our Garmin, which SPD found in another car. Sadly, we had our arms full of stuff when we last got out of the car and forgot to lock the doors and set the alarm. You can bet we won’t do that again any time soon. We live in Sunset Heights on 31st between Othello and Myrtle.

TAGGING VANDALISM: An Arbor Heights resident who asked for name/location anonymity says vandals tagged her fence – “about 15 feet of fence, with letters approximately 4 feet high” – and that police are analyzing it as potential gang graffiti. That’s one reason why it’s important to report this vandalism, however common. Painting it over – a challenge for her, though, since it wasn’t a painted fence in the first place – is important, too, so take a picture as evidence as soon as you can. You can report graffiti/tagging online – here’s the form.

PARK VANDALISM: If you spot vandalism on someone else’s property, or public facilities like parks, you need to get word to them so they can report it. That’s what a neighbor of Hamilton Viewpoint in North Admiral planned to do about this:

She says it’s the second time in two weeks she’s spotted these types of tire marks tearing up the turf – the photo shows the older marks too, and she noticed “dirt clumps in the road in the same area where it appears the vehicle drove off the curb. This is really annoying. The park is for everyone’s enjoyment. This has turned the park into a mud pit and likely destroyed much of the grass.” If you see or hear something like that while it’s happening, call 911, but otherwise, report it to Parks – contact info’s here.

STOLEN SIGN: For this month’s West Seattle Art Walk, eight small local businesses teamed up for an event at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), which put up an A-board sign in The Junction to promote it. Sometime between 10 am and noon that morning, it was stolen; Christine from Office Junction says the KeyBank security guard told them a man picked it up, put it into an orange vehicle, and drove away. She says they’ve had other A-boards stolen, too. If you’ve seen any, please let them (or police) know.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: Tomorrow’s the first WSCPC meeting in two months. Bring your neighborhood concerns, on any crime/safety topic, including the one that’ll be discussed by the featured guest, Ann Graves from Seattle Animal Shelter, as explained on the WSCPC website. Be at the Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster, 7 pm Tuesday.

6 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Car break-ins; fence, park vandalism; stolen sign; WSCPC tomorrow..."

  • Alki resident January 20, 2014 (12:22 pm)

    I hope you don’t tell your insurance company you didn’t lock your door and set your alarm, if you do,you’ll be screwed.

  • blocked punt January 20, 2014 (12:33 pm)

    Was driving behind the admiral Safeway this morning and saw a pretty mangled car on the street. Looked like a bad hit and run from last night. Wonder if it had been reported? Two car owners are having a bad Monday somewhere…

  • Zale January 20, 2014 (3:25 pm)

    Nope, we aren’t telling our insurance anything about it. Our deductible is too high to file a claim with them. I looked at the Seattle PD incident log. Looks like another car prowl on 28th and on 32nd in the last 24 hours.

  • Nick January 20, 2014 (3:26 pm)

    @Blocked Punt- that was reported. We saw two police cruisers there at around 10pm last night.

  • TW January 21, 2014 (10:18 am)

    The last time I called 911 to report a car doing donuts in the field at Hiawatha Park they told me they were responding to emergencies only and would not be sending anyone out. Unfortunate as these events do a tremendous amount of damage.

    • WSB January 21, 2014 (10:26 am)

      TW – that can be a temporary condition. I listen to the scanner hours every day and that is cited when there is something major happening here or elsewhere that has dramatically reduced officer availability. So PLEASE don’t let it keep you from trying again.

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