If you think it’s been quieter lately on the crime front – in some categories of crime, yes, it has. After outgoing Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Steve Paulsen (right) passed the torch to his successor Lt. Norm James (explanation in our January 8th report) at last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, Lt. James ran down the state of the stats on the peninsula – noting that several categories of West Seattle crime are down. Also at the WSCPC meeting, other new faces in West Seattle crimefighting were introduced, officers/executive committee members were elected, and a Traffic Unit rep talked about red-light cams – all ahead:
WHAT’S UP: Nonresidential burglaries, significantly, so special high-visibility patrols are under way. Residential burglaries were “up slightly,” but Lt. James says up to a fourth of them were believed to be the work of just three suspects who’ve been arrested, thanks to alert citizens. He says the same three, who were from High Point, may also have been linked to a wave of auto thefts in that area. Strong-arm robberies – that’s where the robbers aren’t necessarily armed, but assault or threaten the victim – are “up a little.” They tend to happen around bus stops, Lt. James said, adding that Anti-Crime Teams (ACT) are out trying to fight the trend. Also up, aggravated assaults, which tend to spike around the holidays, he said – “people are getting into arguments, more parties, etc.”
WHAT’S DOWN: Car prowls – “significantly.” Armed robberies, too. And graffiti – particularly since the arrest of Ryan Cox, the suspect in the wave of vandalism that largely involved repeated incidences of a three-word homophobic slur. (He’s due in court today for a hearing to determine if he’s competent to stand trial, by the way; the hearing’s been postponed a few times in the past week, but whenever it finally happens, we’ll report back on the results.)
WHO’S NEW: Besides Lt. James in the Operations role, Officer Jill Vanskike is now on the Community Police Team (Officer Ken Mazzuca has deployed to the Middle East). She will handle the South Park area (Frank 3 sector), joining Acting Sgt. Adonis Topacio (in the William sectors, mostly west WS) and Officer Kevin McDaniel in the Frank 1 and 2 sectors (mostly east West Seattle). Officer Vanskike is not really “new” – she’s been with the department 14 years. New City Attorney’s Office precinct liaison John “Mac” McGoodwin also was introduced; in an update from our original report, he now expects to be at the SW Precinct a “couple days a week.”
SPD TRAFFIC TALK: A rep from SPD’s Traffic Unit was there mostly to discuss red-light cameras. And he offered some eye-opening numbers: The two in West Seattle (35th and Thistle, 35th and Avalon), each produced about 1,200 tickets in the past year; the usual ticket is $124. They first go to the vendor, American Traffic Solutions, but then to a review by the SPD person in charge of the program. The cameras take moving video and still photos, and if you’re “caught,” you should get your ticket within a week and a half. Right now there are 28 red-light cameras citywide, and two more are planned, though SPD isn’t sure yet where. Money from the tickets does NOT all go to SPD – most of it goes into the general fund. The neighborhood speed monitoring program also was mentioned – if you have a problem, there are radar guns you can borrow! (Here’s where to go to find out more.)
“ANYBODY ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?” A resident from Fairmount Springs talked about troubles the neighborhood has had with a repeat offender, neighbors sharing information about him on their e-mail list, and wondered if there’s “anybody else we should know about.” A/Sgt. Topacio said that while the offender in question “is always on our radar,” rather than focusing just specifically on certain people, concerned neighbors should watch out for signs of suspicious activity, and call 911 when it’s detected; follow up with your Community Police Team officer if warranted.
LT. PAULSEN’S PARTING WORDS: As mentioned earlier, this was Lt. Steve Paulsen’s last Crime Prevention Council meeting; in a little over a month, he is scheduled to transfer to the West Precinct downtown. But first, he had this to say: “October, November, December were nutty months -” (it was quickly clear he was referring to the incidents that left the Puget Sound law-enforcement community shellshocked, with six officers murdered in less than 3 months) “–but the support from the community has meant a lot. The captain said to tell the community thanks, you got us through the bad times. From everybody in the precinct, they wanted to say thank you to you all.”
OFFICER/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS: None of the positions were contested; the election results were Dot Beard re-elected as president, Richard Miller taking over as vice president (Kay Newton didn’t run for re-election), Betty Wiberg re-elected as secretary, Shell Marr, Shane Marr and Larry Ruda elected to the executive committee.
The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets on the third Tuesday of the month, 7 pm, meeting room at the Southwest Precinct.
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