Come share your concerns and successes!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
10 AM - Noon
El Centro de la Raza
Salvador Allende Room
Downstairs, Northeast Corner
* Building a Safe Community: Block Watches Working Together
* Problem Houses and Suspicious Vehicles: Creating Solutions
* The Central Core Alcohol Impact Area and Beacon Hill: Expanding the AIA
* Reclaiming Beacon Hill's Greenbelts: Making a Safe Future for Our Forests
Participants include representatives from the Seattle Police Department, the
Seattle Neighborhood Group, the Seattle City Attorney's Office, and the
Washington State Liquor Control Board.
Updates will include information from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods,
the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Community Court of the Seattle
City Attorney's Office, the Washington State Department of Transportation, and
the Washington State Department of Corrections.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Community Newsletter May 2007
Reporting Crime to the Police
This subject was previously covered some time ago, so we thought it was time to revisit this topic. We need people to use the 9-1-1 system to report crimes that have occurred, crimes in progress, or suspicious activity. Calls for service let us know the crime trends in a neighborhood, where we need to focus our attention, and how we assign our resources.
Call 9-1-1 when:
• When you have a Police, Fire or Medical emergency.
• To report a crime that is in progress, or has just occurred.
• There is a situation that could - or does - pose a danger to life, property, or both.
• There is suspicious activity involving a person(s), or vehicle, that appears criminal in intent.
Please Note: Seattle Police 9-1-1 operators have immediate access to interpreters who can assist in communicating with callers, and TTY machines at every station. Also, if you are reporting an emergency occurring in another city (i.e. you are talking with a family member in Everett and they start having a heart attack) call 9-1-1 to be transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction.
9-1-1 calls from pay phones and cell phones are free.
The Seattle Police Non Emergency Line: (206) 625-5011
Reasons for calling the non-emergency number include, but are not limited to the following:
• You want to report a nuisance, such as a noise or parking complaint.
• To report a non-emergency crime, one that did not just occur, and the suspect(s) are not in the immediate area.
• You have questions about something suspicious occurring in your neighborhood, and you are not sure it is criminal activity.
What To Expect When You Call:
Try to remain patient and calm while the 9-1-1 operator asks you questions. They are trained to ask specific questions to quickly determine what is wrong and what type of assistance to send. Please stay on the line until the operator tells you to hang up.
Be Prepared To Answer These Questions:
• Is it an emergency? Using the previous definitions, if the situation is not an emergency, please tell that to the operator up front.
• Your EXACT location: This may not always be the same as where the activity is occurring, but from where you are calling.
• The location of the activity: If you don’t have an exact location, give us the best location you can (near the intersection of Smith Ave. & Jones St.)
• Time lapse: Our response can be based on whether the crime happened five minutes ago, five hours ago, or is currently in progress.
• The exact activity you are reporting
• Suspect Information: Any information you can provide clothing, height, weight, age, direction of travel, etc. will be helpful to the responding officer(s).
• Weapon information. Are there any weapons involved? What type?
Phone Reports
With some crime reporting, you may be asked if you are willing to do a phone report rather than having an officer respond. This frees the officers to respond to other emergency calls.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator
This subject was previously covered some time ago, so we thought it was time to revisit this topic. We need people to use the 9-1-1 system to report crimes that have occurred, crimes in progress, or suspicious activity. Calls for service let us know the crime trends in a neighborhood, where we need to focus our attention, and how we assign our resources.
Call 9-1-1 when:
• When you have a Police, Fire or Medical emergency.
• To report a crime that is in progress, or has just occurred.
• There is a situation that could - or does - pose a danger to life, property, or both.
• There is suspicious activity involving a person(s), or vehicle, that appears criminal in intent.
Please Note: Seattle Police 9-1-1 operators have immediate access to interpreters who can assist in communicating with callers, and TTY machines at every station. Also, if you are reporting an emergency occurring in another city (i.e. you are talking with a family member in Everett and they start having a heart attack) call 9-1-1 to be transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction.
9-1-1 calls from pay phones and cell phones are free.
The Seattle Police Non Emergency Line: (206) 625-5011
Reasons for calling the non-emergency number include, but are not limited to the following:
• You want to report a nuisance, such as a noise or parking complaint.
• To report a non-emergency crime, one that did not just occur, and the suspect(s) are not in the immediate area.
• You have questions about something suspicious occurring in your neighborhood, and you are not sure it is criminal activity.
What To Expect When You Call:
Try to remain patient and calm while the 9-1-1 operator asks you questions. They are trained to ask specific questions to quickly determine what is wrong and what type of assistance to send. Please stay on the line until the operator tells you to hang up.
Be Prepared To Answer These Questions:
• Is it an emergency? Using the previous definitions, if the situation is not an emergency, please tell that to the operator up front.
• Your EXACT location: This may not always be the same as where the activity is occurring, but from where you are calling.
• The location of the activity: If you don’t have an exact location, give us the best location you can (near the intersection of Smith Ave. & Jones St.)
• Time lapse: Our response can be based on whether the crime happened five minutes ago, five hours ago, or is currently in progress.
• The exact activity you are reporting
• Suspect Information: Any information you can provide clothing, height, weight, age, direction of travel, etc. will be helpful to the responding officer(s).
• Weapon information. Are there any weapons involved? What type?
Phone Reports
With some crime reporting, you may be asked if you are willing to do a phone report rather than having an officer respond. This frees the officers to respond to other emergency calls.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
South Precinct Email Community NewsletterApril 18, 2007
Dear Community Friends,
Crime Terminology
Here¹s a summation of a number of conversations I¹ve had:
Crime Victim (CV): I¹ve been robbed!
Mark (M): Really? Tell me what happened.
CV: Well, I went to the store and someone came in through the garage and
robbed me. They took my laptop and some jewelry. In broad daylight!
M: Actually, you weren¹t robbed. You were burglarized.
CV: What? What difference does it make? Someone stole my stuff!
M: Okay, on that we can agree.
The reason I point this out is because for law enforcement, there is a
difference between Robbery, Home Invasion Robbery, Burglary, Trespass and
Theft. When you talk to law enforcement or call 911, the language you use
makes a difference. So, with that introduction out of the way, I¹m going to
give you the plain language definitions of each term.
Trespass is when someone enters physical property, not his or her own,
without permission. It could be a parking lot, a business, or somebody¹s
yard. If that person does not have permission to go there, or has not been
given implicit permission because of the type of business (a fast food
place, for example) the person is trespassing. If the person is told they
are trespassing and is asked to leave, if they refuse to leave, that person
can be arrested for trespassing.
Burglary is when someone enters physical property, not his or her own,
without permission, with the intent to commit a crime. The crime could be
to take belongings from the property (i.e. theft), or against a person
within the property (i.e. assault). This could be a residence (residential
burglary), a place of business (commercial burglary), a detached storage
shed or garage (kinda counts as residential), or even a public storage unit
or storage yard (kinda more commercial). It doesn¹t matter if force is used
to gain entry, if someone was home at the time (in the case of a residential
burglary) and it doesn¹t matter is something is stolen. The unlawful entry
of the property with intent to commit a crime is burglary. For the record,
most residential burglaries occur during the day, (when most folks are away
at work) and most commercial burglaries occur at night (when most workers
are at their residence).
Robbery is the physical taking of property from another individual by the
use of force or the implied use of force. An example would be a lady
walking down the street and someone comes up from behind, grabs her purse
off of her shoulder, and though the lady tries to hang on, the purse is
taken anyway; that is a strong-arm robbery, better known as a purse snatch.
Say a guy is walking down the street and another guy comes up to him and
says, ³give me your wallet,² while showing a knife or other weapon. That¹s
an armed robbery, whether the weapon was used or not. The physical taking
of another person¹s property through force - or implied use of force - is
robbery, whether a weapon is used or not. Use or implication of a weapon
just helps us categorize the ³type² of robbery.
Theft is when property is taken, period. Shoplift (taking something from a
store without paying for it), auto theft and auto accessory theft (car
stereo/CD player) are examples of theft. One form of theft frequently
happens when we go shopping and we leave our belongings (purse, backpack,
wallet) unattended. While we¹re busy looking on the bottom shelf for the
least expensive oatmeal, someone has taken the purse or backpack, or taken
something out of the purse or backpack (wallet, cell phone) without
permission, or knowledge, or direct threat or actual use of force. No one
implied a threat or used force to take it from you; no one entered your home
or place of business to get it; it was there and they took it. That¹s theft.
Crime Terminology
Here¹s a summation of a number of conversations I¹ve had:
Crime Victim (CV): I¹ve been robbed!
Mark (M): Really? Tell me what happened.
CV: Well, I went to the store and someone came in through the garage and
robbed me. They took my laptop and some jewelry. In broad daylight!
M: Actually, you weren¹t robbed. You were burglarized.
CV: What? What difference does it make? Someone stole my stuff!
M: Okay, on that we can agree.
The reason I point this out is because for law enforcement, there is a
difference between Robbery, Home Invasion Robbery, Burglary, Trespass and
Theft. When you talk to law enforcement or call 911, the language you use
makes a difference. So, with that introduction out of the way, I¹m going to
give you the plain language definitions of each term.
Trespass is when someone enters physical property, not his or her own,
without permission. It could be a parking lot, a business, or somebody¹s
yard. If that person does not have permission to go there, or has not been
given implicit permission because of the type of business (a fast food
place, for example) the person is trespassing. If the person is told they
are trespassing and is asked to leave, if they refuse to leave, that person
can be arrested for trespassing.
Burglary is when someone enters physical property, not his or her own,
without permission, with the intent to commit a crime. The crime could be
to take belongings from the property (i.e. theft), or against a person
within the property (i.e. assault). This could be a residence (residential
burglary), a place of business (commercial burglary), a detached storage
shed or garage (kinda counts as residential), or even a public storage unit
or storage yard (kinda more commercial). It doesn¹t matter if force is used
to gain entry, if someone was home at the time (in the case of a residential
burglary) and it doesn¹t matter is something is stolen. The unlawful entry
of the property with intent to commit a crime is burglary. For the record,
most residential burglaries occur during the day, (when most folks are away
at work) and most commercial burglaries occur at night (when most workers
are at their residence).
Robbery is the physical taking of property from another individual by the
use of force or the implied use of force. An example would be a lady
walking down the street and someone comes up from behind, grabs her purse
off of her shoulder, and though the lady tries to hang on, the purse is
taken anyway; that is a strong-arm robbery, better known as a purse snatch.
Say a guy is walking down the street and another guy comes up to him and
says, ³give me your wallet,² while showing a knife or other weapon. That¹s
an armed robbery, whether the weapon was used or not. The physical taking
of another person¹s property through force - or implied use of force - is
robbery, whether a weapon is used or not. Use or implication of a weapon
just helps us categorize the ³type² of robbery.
Theft is when property is taken, period. Shoplift (taking something from a
store without paying for it), auto theft and auto accessory theft (car
stereo/CD player) are examples of theft. One form of theft frequently
happens when we go shopping and we leave our belongings (purse, backpack,
wallet) unattended. While we¹re busy looking on the bottom shelf for the
least expensive oatmeal, someone has taken the purse or backpack, or taken
something out of the purse or backpack (wallet, cell phone) without
permission, or knowledge, or direct threat or actual use of force. No one
implied a threat or used force to take it from you; no one entered your home
or place of business to get it; it was there and they took it. That¹s theft.
Home Invasion Robbery is a whole different kind of critter. A home invasion
robbery is when the perpetrators enter the home with the intent of finding
someone there. The perpetrators use weapons and (often) actual violence to
get the people in the home to give them money, jewelry and other belongings.
Household members in the home are often restrained, threatened and beaten,
and they are often told that if they report the crime to the police, they
will be killed. This is a scary type of occurrence. Thankfully, it is also
extremely rare, which is why it gets so much media attention when it
happens.
The term ³Home Invasion Robbery² is more of a media creation rather than an
actual crime, but the term has been widely adopted. If the perpetrators
unlawfully enter the property, the crime is primarily a burglary. However,
the introduction of guns or other dangerous weapons by the perpetrators, and
the threat or use of those weapons, allow the crime to be charged as both
burglary and robbery in many cases. If weapons are used, there is a weapons
enhancement added at sentencing (which means the suspects will do more time
if convicted), and a firearms enhancement if a gun was used an automatic
five year additional sentence if convicted.
So, when you call 911 to report a crime, or you talk to police officers
about a crime, be sure as to which crime you¹re talking about. If someone
entered your residence without your permission sometime over the weekend
while you were out of town, don¹t call in saying you had a Home Invasion
Burglary. No, you had a burglary. If someone takes a shopping bag from
your car while you were in The Mall doing some more shopping, don¹t call 911
to report you were robbed. No, you had a theft.
I hope this clears things up a bit.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Burglar Wanted
Our neighobr Craig Thompson wants to know if anyone has seen this man. He is apparently wanted for a burglary on Island Crest Drive . If you see this man call 911 as he is wanted in connection with SPD case # 07-136189.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Recent Arsons in the South End
Dear Community Friends,
In the past week there have been 2 Arson fires of note:
- 4/2/07, approximately 11pm: 4600 Block of 43rd Ave. South. Single-family
residence. $500,000 loss, Unknown person(s) used hand held flame to ignite
combustibles on exterior of structure.
- 4/8/07, Approximately 1:45am: 5900 Block of 51st Ave. South.
Single-family residence. $400,000 loss, Unknown person(s) applied an
ignitable liquid to exterior of home and lighted the same with an open
flame.
At this time there is no solid evidence linking these two incidents.
However, there are similarities:
- Both houses were situated on corner lots with easy access to the back
yards
- The fires were started using available materials present
- The fires were started at the rear of each structure at ground level
underneath enclosed but accessible areas
- The houses were occupied at the time.
The victims in each reported no prior threats, and know of no reason they
might have been targeted. There have been no witnesses located. There is
no suspect information at this time. The Seattle Police Department
Arson/Bomb Squad is doing the follow-up investigation of both incidents. If
you have any information that may prove useful to the investigations, please
contact 206.684.8980
The following information is courtesy of the Seattle Fire Department.
Help Stop Arson
Fires started by people to hurt others or damage property are called arson.
Arson is a crime.
Help stop arson by taking the following steps:
Outside
- Lock doors and windows of your home, garage and car.
- Remove weeds and grass from around your home.
- Remove any trash, boxes or wood stored next to your home.
- Lock up gasoline or other liquids that could be used to start a fire.
- Trim bushes away from doors and windows.
- Leave outside lights on when it is dark.
In the past week there have been 2 Arson fires of note:
- 4/2/07, approximately 11pm: 4600 Block of 43rd Ave. South. Single-family
residence. $500,000 loss, Unknown person(s) used hand held flame to ignite
combustibles on exterior of structure.
- 4/8/07, Approximately 1:45am: 5900 Block of 51st Ave. South.
Single-family residence. $400,000 loss, Unknown person(s) applied an
ignitable liquid to exterior of home and lighted the same with an open
flame.
At this time there is no solid evidence linking these two incidents.
However, there are similarities:
- Both houses were situated on corner lots with easy access to the back
yards
- The fires were started using available materials present
- The fires were started at the rear of each structure at ground level
underneath enclosed but accessible areas
- The houses were occupied at the time.
The victims in each reported no prior threats, and know of no reason they
might have been targeted. There have been no witnesses located. There is
no suspect information at this time. The Seattle Police Department
Arson/Bomb Squad is doing the follow-up investigation of both incidents. If
you have any information that may prove useful to the investigations, please
contact 206.684.8980
The following information is courtesy of the Seattle Fire Department.
Help Stop Arson
Fires started by people to hurt others or damage property are called arson.
Arson is a crime.
Help stop arson by taking the following steps:
Outside
- Lock doors and windows of your home, garage and car.
- Remove weeds and grass from around your home.
- Remove any trash, boxes or wood stored next to your home.
- Lock up gasoline or other liquids that could be used to start a fire.
- Trim bushes away from doors and windows.
- Leave outside lights on when it is dark.
Inside
- Test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they will work in a fire.
- Make and practice a fire escape plan. Make a map showing two exits from
every room.
- Make sure windows and screens can be opened easily from the inside if
needed for escape.
If you see suspicious activity, report it to 9-1-1 while it is happening.
If you have information related to an arson fire, you can call the Arson
Alarm Hotline at
1-800-55-ARSON (1-800-552-7776). The person providing information may
remain anonymous. A reward may be provided for information that leads to an
arson conviction.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator
Monday, April 09, 2007
South Precinct Email Community Newsletter - April 4, 2007
Dear Community Friends,
Domestic Violence
This week we have seen local and national news reports that have brought the
issue of domestic violence to the forefront.
Domestic Violence
This week we have seen local and national news reports that have brought the
issue of domestic violence to the forefront.
· On Monday, April 2, 32007, Rebecca Griego was shot and killed by her
ex-boyfriend, Jonathan Rowan. Griego had a restraining order against Rowan
as he had repeatedly threatened her during and after their on-and-off
relationship. He stalked and harassed her and her family. Though she had
moved and changed her phone number, Rowan continued to call her at work.
Co-workers were advised of the situation and told to watch out for him.
Even with that, Rowan went to Griego¹s place of employment at the University
of Washington, shot her as she was alone in her office, then shot himself.
· On Tuesday, April 3, 2007, Clara Riddles, of College Park, Georgia,
was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend, Arthur Mann, at the CNN Center complex
in Atlanta. Witnesses saw Mann pulling Riddles by her hair. Riddles was
screaming, trying to wrestle free of Mann. Witnesses said Riddles appeared
to be shot at point-blank range, ³Šlike he [Mann] had the gun right on top
of her head and shot her." Mann was subsequently shot by a security
officer, is currently in a hospital in stable condition, and has been
charged with Riddles¹ murder.
Domestic violence is the ugly elephant in the room that nobody really wants
to talk about. Much domestic abuse goes unreported. The victims (or as I
prefer to refer to them as the survivors) may feel shamed, trapped, or
afraid. While many of us may think, ³just leave.² Think about the above
examples. These women did everything they could. They got out, they had
retraining orders, they moved on. Unfortunately, the ex-boyfriends did not.
It is a fact that a person is far more likely to be assaulted, abused, or
raped by someone they know, have trusted or live with than they are by a
stranger. In most instances, the victims or survivors have options. There
is assistance for those who want or need it, and there is always something
that can be done.
Seattle Police Response to Domestic Violence
Seattle Police respond to domestic violence calls more than any other
person-to-person crime. A domestic violence call is dispatched with the
highest priority because of the potential for harm or death. Once at the
scene of the domestic violence call, if there is evidence of physical
assault, the abuser will be arrested, removed from the scene and charged
with domestic violence Assault. Arrest and removal of the abuser is
mandatory per Washington state law.
Further, Seattle is one of the only police departments in the country that
has a dedicated Domestic Violence Investigations unit. The detectives in
this unit consider their work ³Murder Prevention.² That should give you an
idea of how serious they take the issue.
Additionally, Seattle has a unique program called the Domestic Violence
Victim Support Team. The Victim Support Team is a partnership between
community volunteers and police. The program is designed to address the gap
in services for domestic violence victims that often occurs over the
weekend, working with the survivors from the time patrol officers respond to
a domestic violence call to the time advocates, detectives and prosecutors
make contact with the victim(s) for follow up. Victim Support Team
volunteers provide crisis intervention, safety planning, help locating
emergency resources, transportation to a safe location, and referrals to
over 100 community agencies. For more information about the Victim Support
Team, or to get involved, please call (206) 684-7721.
There are a number of state, local and national domestic violence resources.
If you know those who need assistance, good starting points are the King
County Coalition Against Domestic Violence website (www.kcadv.org
<http://www.kcadv.org/> ) or call the Washington State Domestic Violence
hotline: 1-800-562-6025.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Community Update March 2007
Dear Community Friends,
Home Invasion Robberies Update
As you are well aware, we’ve experienced a series of home invasion robberies in the past few months. The first one that came to our attention was the one that occurred in the Mount Baker neighborhood in late January 2007. There were also home invasion robberies in the Lakeridge area and South Beacon Hill. The good news: two suspects have been arrested and charged, and a third suspect has been identified and is currently being sought.
Eyewitness accounts from the victims of these crimes proved critical to placing these individuals at the crime scenes. South Precinct detectives were able to get identification from a photomontage, get the suspect information out to officers, and within hours of the warrant being released, SWAT officers arrested the first suspect.
Working with Bellevue PD (who identified one of the three suspects as being involved in a kidnapping, burglary and assault), and King County detectives, the second suspect was identified. He was located at a Renton pawnshop as he tried to unload property identified as stolen in the home invasion robberies. When this suspect was arrested, he had property on him from the Mount Baker home invasion robbery. When a warrant was served where this suspect was residing, additional property from the Mount Baker, Lakeridge and South Beacon Hill home invasion robberies was recovered.
The third suspect was eventually identified and a $500,000 warrant was issued for his arrest. This suspect seems to have “gone to ground”, but it’s only a matter of time before he is found, arrested and charged. After all, his name and photo are all over the news and every law enforcement agency and informant is out looking for the guy.
These arrests and eyewitnesses who picked the suspects out of a line-up have helped detectives close cases in multiple jurisdictions dating back to November 2006. These include the Bellevue case mentioned above, a West Seattle burglary, the Mount Baker, Lakeridge and South Beacon Hill home invasions robberies, and other home invasion robberies in South and West Seattle.
Many have expressed frustration, anger and fear about these robberies. We understand. There was a lot of frustration and anger about how police were responding to these crimes. Again, we understand. There are a couple of take-aways from these events that need to be highlighted.
1) Home invasion robberies are scary. Fortunately, they are very rare. It is the type of crime we fear the most, but one that happens the least.
2) Police will respond to the 911 call, they will collect evidence, the detectives will follow-up on the evidence and investigate to the best of their ability, and they will beat the bushes to close cases, using every resource they have.
3) Eyewitness information, and the willingness of witnesses and victims to come forward, were essential to getting the suspects identified, arrested and charged. If not for those people who were able to pick the suspects out of a photomontage, we would not have had any probable cause to arrest or charge any of these individuals with any crime.
These incidents stress how important it is that crimes are reported, even if an officer is not able to respond immediately. They also stress the importance paying attention to what is happening in your neighborhood so you can point out to police that which is out of the ordinary, and of people’s willingness to make a statement about the crime and identify those involved. Police don’t solve crimes alone. They don’t catch criminals alone. Police strive to do their best. But it can’t be done without you. The arrests of these home invasion robbery suspects are further proof of that. We scored a win, and while it was the detectives that did the grunt work to make it happen, it is you that facilitated that win.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator
Home Invasion Robberies Update
As you are well aware, we’ve experienced a series of home invasion robberies in the past few months. The first one that came to our attention was the one that occurred in the Mount Baker neighborhood in late January 2007. There were also home invasion robberies in the Lakeridge area and South Beacon Hill. The good news: two suspects have been arrested and charged, and a third suspect has been identified and is currently being sought.
Eyewitness accounts from the victims of these crimes proved critical to placing these individuals at the crime scenes. South Precinct detectives were able to get identification from a photomontage, get the suspect information out to officers, and within hours of the warrant being released, SWAT officers arrested the first suspect.
Working with Bellevue PD (who identified one of the three suspects as being involved in a kidnapping, burglary and assault), and King County detectives, the second suspect was identified. He was located at a Renton pawnshop as he tried to unload property identified as stolen in the home invasion robberies. When this suspect was arrested, he had property on him from the Mount Baker home invasion robbery. When a warrant was served where this suspect was residing, additional property from the Mount Baker, Lakeridge and South Beacon Hill home invasion robberies was recovered.
The third suspect was eventually identified and a $500,000 warrant was issued for his arrest. This suspect seems to have “gone to ground”, but it’s only a matter of time before he is found, arrested and charged. After all, his name and photo are all over the news and every law enforcement agency and informant is out looking for the guy.
These arrests and eyewitnesses who picked the suspects out of a line-up have helped detectives close cases in multiple jurisdictions dating back to November 2006. These include the Bellevue case mentioned above, a West Seattle burglary, the Mount Baker, Lakeridge and South Beacon Hill home invasions robberies, and other home invasion robberies in South and West Seattle.
Many have expressed frustration, anger and fear about these robberies. We understand. There was a lot of frustration and anger about how police were responding to these crimes. Again, we understand. There are a couple of take-aways from these events that need to be highlighted.
1) Home invasion robberies are scary. Fortunately, they are very rare. It is the type of crime we fear the most, but one that happens the least.
2) Police will respond to the 911 call, they will collect evidence, the detectives will follow-up on the evidence and investigate to the best of their ability, and they will beat the bushes to close cases, using every resource they have.
3) Eyewitness information, and the willingness of witnesses and victims to come forward, were essential to getting the suspects identified, arrested and charged. If not for those people who were able to pick the suspects out of a photomontage, we would not have had any probable cause to arrest or charge any of these individuals with any crime.
These incidents stress how important it is that crimes are reported, even if an officer is not able to respond immediately. They also stress the importance paying attention to what is happening in your neighborhood so you can point out to police that which is out of the ordinary, and of people’s willingness to make a statement about the crime and identify those involved. Police don’t solve crimes alone. They don’t catch criminals alone. Police strive to do their best. But it can’t be done without you. The arrests of these home invasion robbery suspects are further proof of that. We scored a win, and while it was the detectives that did the grunt work to make it happen, it is you that facilitated that win.
Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator