From the precinct: Community Police Team’s temporary change

| Crime | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

It’s been a challenging summer for the Southwest Precinct, dealing with some officer injuries (like this one) that have affected staffing, and forced some difficult choices. The precinct leader we mention the most, Lt. Steve Paulsen — who’s in charge of precinct operations, which means logistics, scheduling, and other planning/execution to keep West Seattle (and South Park) safe — has just written with a message for you about one resulting short-term change:

For the next month to month and a half, we are going to pretty much shut down our Community Police Team office. I have made the tough decision to put our Community Police Team back into patrol to get us through the rest of the summer. Given this temporary situation, I believe it is more important that our citizens have the officers in the field. The CPT officers will be working the areas they normally serve so they can keep current with issues to their assigned neighborhoods. What they won’t be able to do is answer/monitor their office telephone calls from citizens in the Precinct.

The good part is that we will be in the field, enhancing our current ability to provide a responsive service. If our citizens have non-emergency neighborhood issues that requires our attention — please feel free to contact Crime Prevention Specialist Benjamin Kinlow at 206-684-7724. Any other concerns, please contact the Southwest Precinct at 206-733-9800.

Again, thank you for your patience and support … We truly enjoy our partnership with our West Seattle community.

If you’re wondering “what’s the Community Police Team?” — these are officers assigned to certain sectors of the precinct’s area with primarily proactive, rather than reactive, duties — from working with community groups to address their concerns (we see CPT reps at many key meetings), to keeping close watch on potential trouble spots, even repeat visits to make themselves known. You can read about the CPT at this page on the SW Precinct website. Meantime, as Lt. Paulsen mentioned, it’s a “partnership” with you — and the next action you can take in this partnership is participating in Night Out, next Tuesday; it’s not too late to register your block (which gets you the right to close it down for the evening) – here’s the place to start.

atemybuick July 31, 2008 (8:48 am)

They’re cutting back on community policing but apparently still have time to give out speeding tickets on Highland Park Way this morning. Saw two people get stopped. Really makes me feel safer!

JEM July 31, 2008 (9:49 am)

Speeding cars ARE a community safety issue.

atemybuick July 31, 2008 (10:30 am)

There is one side street, one driveway and one parking lot on the big hill on Highland Park Way. There are maybe two houses on that stretch and the rest is woods. There isn’t even a sidewalk on one side. And the speed limit is 30MPH! Like I said, really makes me feel safer.

AJP July 31, 2008 (11:42 am)

I ride my bike down Highland Park Way in the mornings to work. Speeding cars are a concern for me. I saw the police there this morning and was glad to see them.

WSeattleite July 31, 2008 (3:30 pm)

The officers giving out tickets on Highland Parkway are not from the SW Precinct, but from the Traffic Unit. Sometimes, an officer is “lent” temporarily to another unit or precinct, such as when an officer who is in the military reserves is deployed for a time, or someone is on extended medical leave. Otherwise, SPD’s various units staff their assigned areas and jurisdictions from within their own squads and precincts. The Traffic Unit has a list of areas it regularly patrols, based on serious accidents and precinct and community requests. Highland Parkway is on that list.