Reader report: 35th/Roxbury trouble

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Jessica (thank you!):

Last night, our neighbors had their home broken into while they were out of town. The window was broken on the alley side of the home, and I’m guessing it was someone from the neighborhood who knew the homeowners were gone (given the silence of the dogs). The police found no prints (they used gloves) and saw “small shoe marks”. The burglars took smaller items that were quick to grab.

Last week, our neighbors across 35th Ave told me about 3 incidents of cars being keyed.

And we frequently see drug-activity at the 35th Ave SW and Roxbury corner.

It would be so helpful if people see strange activity to report it to the police as soon as possible. Hopefully this gets the word out in the South end.

That’s exactly what the West Seattle-based Seattle Police Department team at the Southwest Precinct would say – keep the non-emergency number handy, 625-5011 – and crime prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow would certainly add, set up a Block Watch if you don’t have one already. Another excellent resource for the area in Jessica’s note is the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety group; here’s the WSB report on their October meeting, and their upcoming meetings are listed here.

7 Replies to "Reader report: 35th/Roxbury trouble"

  • MargL December 16, 2007 (1:01 am)

    What is it with that weird little building on the west side of 35th north of Roxbury that was selling odds and ends – BBQ’s? Console stereos? Luggage? Looked like a pawn shop but doesn’t have a sign that says that. They’d also leave a lot of stuff out front over night. I was ignoring it hoping it’d go away so I’m not sure if they’re still at it.

  • Christopher Boffoli December 16, 2007 (7:42 am)

    You MUST put timers on your lights when you go out of town. I’m convinced that a lack of light timers was responsible for a break-in attempt at my house last April (luckily I have a monitored alarm) and a successful burglary at my neighbor’s house a few months later. It is such a simple thing to do and it can save lots of money and aggravation in the long run.

  • Jessica December 16, 2007 (8:02 am)

    Chris-
    TImers would be great, but whomever broke into the house knew it well enough to not hear the dogs barking – signaling no one being home.
    We will be working on better security – including light sensors. Thanks for your concern.

  • Christopher Boffoli December 16, 2007 (9:34 pm)

    Jessica: It’s Christopher, actually, not “Chris”. It seems to me that if you’re right then that clue about the barking dogs will help the police narrow it down to perhaps someone the victims know. Of course, the way some of my West Seattle neighbors allow their dogs to bark loudly with impunity, all of the neighbors within a ten block radius may have known these people weren’t home.

  • Ken Davis December 18, 2007 (3:20 pm)

    Kinlow exist? Who knew. Maybe I will try another email and call. It’s never resulted in a reply before.

  • Lynn Jackson December 19, 2007 (10:56 pm)

    It doesn’t surprise me that you couldn’t reach Mr. Kinslow. We had him at a block watch meeting earlier this year, and he didn’t have much of value to say. He was unenthusiastic and essentially phoned it in. “Watch out for your neighbors” and “your alarm won’t do much good, the police probably won’t respond” was the extent of his wisdom. Not very helpful and not super confidence enhancing. He didn’t seem too motivated or interested and didn’t want to be asked too many questions.
    This was my experience and is only my opinion, for what it’s worth.

  • WSB December 19, 2007 (11:16 pm)

    Re: Lynn’s comment, I’d like to note that I met with Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct today and they are promising to work with us in terms of getting out more crime-prevention info as well as info about crimes and investigations. Before arranging to meet with him, I also had a good conversation last week with Ben Kinlow as well — I believe he’s out of the office for the holidays but would advise giving him another try afterward.

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