(L-R, Lt. Norm James, WSCPC president Dot Beard, secretary Betty Wiberg, VP Richard Miller)
There was so (relatively) little crime to talk about at tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, it didn’t even last an hour. In his meeting-opening update, Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Norm James began, “Everything’s been reasonably quiet.” And he said that is particularly good news for one neighborhood, Highland Park, where burglaries have “dropped off the charts” – recent arrests seem to have ended the latest series (described in this April 1st report). More of his toplines on current West Seattle crime trends, plus a surprise presentation at the meeting, and more, ahead:

“Overall, burglaries (throughout West Seattle) are staying average, about 73, 75 a month, that’s where we are for March,” Lt. James continued. “Typical things taken – audiovisual equipment, CDs, computers, anything somebody can grab real fast.”

Auto thefts are “staying down,” he continued, without giving numbers (update: they dropped from 38 the previous month to 28 last month), then citing car prowls at 95 for the past month, compared to 86 for the month before, while suggesting that’s still “average” given that February’s a shorter month. For car prowls, he also cited a year-to-year statistic: 1,138 for the past 12 months – 1,139 for the exact same period a year before that.

And he had an update on one major business-burglary case that’s been mentioned at previous meetings, a break-in at an unidentified West Seattle business, with the loot including billing information for health-care clients. Lt. James said tonight that investigators sent 150 letters to victims whose information was stolen in that burglary; more than 20 replied to say that their credit cards had been used fraudulently, with transactions averaging at least $1,000. Keep close watch on your statement, he reminded. (A suspect has been arrested in this case.)

When WSCPC president Dot Beard asked attendees if they had any neighborhood concerns to bring up with police, only one person piped up, High Point Neighborhood Association president Jennifer Cobb. She asked for an update on current gang activity. High Point’s Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel said that area “hasn’t seen a great increase in gang activity,” though he noted a fair amount of colors-wearing — specifically mentioning “red baseball caps” — some by “younger kids who are imitating what they’re seeing.” What about the rest of West Seattle? Cobb asked. Police didn’t have anything specific to cite, aside from Lt. James mentioning a “youth outreach group” that he suggested be invited to a future WSCPC meeting, to talk about keeping kids from “falling through the cracks.”

Second major presentation of the meeting: Karen Berge and Geraldine Schwarz with an update on the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network, founded recently so that local blockwatch leaders could meet each other and share information/advice, since the city is not able to facilitate sharing of contact information. After the group’s first face-to-face meeting (WSB coverage here) weekend before last, its main online presence, this Facebook group, is up to 90 members; Berge says about 10 others have asked to be kept in contact via e-mail.

Schwarz showed flyers produced for the group and asked for help in circulating them (you can download a copy here). She also noted that collaboration and cooperation will also likely bring more attention to the value of blockwatch captains, who she said “are not recognized the way they should be – the amount of energy they have; people should understand what they go through. The help, the creativity … it’s a powerful thing, strengthening the individual blockwatch and the people in the block.” She added that the in-person meeting led to a “rich” exchange of information that could be extended online through the Facebook group, too.

Berge, meantime, noted the wide range of participants at the in-person meeting – some “who said they were in the safest neighborhood possible,” others who say they “hear gunshots all the time” where they live.

Again, you can join the Facebook group for the Blockwatch Captains Network by going here. (What? No Block Watch? You can get one started with help from SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow – contact info here.)

The third and final major presentation: Melody Sarkies and Clay Swidler wanted to honor the Community Police Team officers who’ve helped their Seaview blockwatch over the years, so they brought special cards made by neighborhood kids – and tickets to the May 2nd Mariners game. “Boy, have we kept them busy!” Sarkies laughed. They cited their former CPT Officer, Mark Spadoni, as well as Officer McDaniel, who has since moved to the eastern West Seattle beat, and Officers Adonis Topacio and Jill Vanskike, who are assigned to the area now.

Sarkies had stories for and about each one – for Officer McDaniel, she recalled his frequent reassurances after incidents, “We’ll get ’em, don’t worry, we’ll get ’em.” For Officer Topacio, who would help them solve neighborhood-nuisance problems, Sarkies said she’d suggest “throw dynamite in and clear them out,” while the officer would say, “I’ll do a knock-and-talk” – and that would work.

The four officers, plus Lt. James and Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler are all getting those baseball tickets as a token of the blockwatch’s appreciation.

On that cheery note, the meeting ended, with cake and coffee waiting as part of the expression of appreciation.

The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council usually meets on the third Tuesday of the month (this month had to be moved), 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct; next meeting is May 18th. Keep an eye on their website inbetween meetings – www.wscpc.org.