South Precinct Email Community NewsletterDecember 13, 2007

Crime Prevention During The Holidays

During the holiday season, we often see a spike in certain crime types. For example, neighbors have reported that they have had packages (gifts for others) delivered to their home only to find that the packages were stolen off the porch. Others have had items stolen from their cars. While car prowl is nothing new, it does seem to escalate when there are packages clearly visible in the car.

This extended newsletter focuses on safety and security during the holiday season. These recommendations will hopefully reduce your risk of being a crime victim during this time of year.

Prevention Tips While Shopping

· Take a friend along when doing holiday shopping. Using the buddy system reduces your chances of being a victim of robbery.
· When paying by cash, only take out the amount needed and keep the remainder out of view. It¹s always a good idea to carry minimal amounts of cash, regardless of the time of year.
· Don¹t tempt a thief by leaving your purse, wallet or packages unattended. It only takes a second to grab them.
· Beware of strangers who bump, shove or get too close. Pickpockets may use these diversions to lift your wallet.
· Be cautious of those you don¹t know who offer to carry bags and packages
for you. Depending on where you shop, store personnel or mall security may
offer assistance in carrying packages to your car or escorting you to your
vehicle.
· If you have to return to your car to store purchases, place them in the trunk out of sight. Do this when you get to your car, rather than waiting until you park at your next stop. Gifts and other valuables should never be left in clear view.
· Before returning to your car, make sure you¹re not over-burdened with packages. Have your car keys in hand to avoid ³searching² for them when you reach your car.
When Using an ATM
· Only take out the amount you need, rather than the maximum you can get.
· Don¹t walk away from the cash machine counting your money. That¹s an invitation to someone who may not have the best of intentions in mind.
· Beware of strangers hanging around the ATM. Wait until they leave, or consider using an alternate cash machine. You should report suspicious people to bank personnel, mall security and/or police.
· Secure your money and your bankcard or credit card back in your wallet or
pocket before leaving the ATM.
· Always keep your PIN number separate from your bank and/or credit card.

Prevention Tips At Home
· Don¹t openly display your Christmas tree and gifts in the front window so
it¹s easily visible from the street. You increase the possibility that a burglar will be tempted to gain entry and steal the gifts.

· When disposing of the packaging in which gifts and other purchases come, realize that when you place these out for recycling or trash collection, those boxes sitting out on the curb on collection day give a passer-by a pretty good indication of what¹s in your home. Recycle the packaging, yes - but break the boxes down first, put them inside out so the exterior writing does not show, and don¹t put them on the curb until collection day.
· If you have ordered items and are going to have them delivered, consider having them delivered to your place of business rather than your home. This reduces the opportunity for packages to be left unattended on your porch and therefore an enticing target for thieves.
· Burglars often enter through unlocked doors or windows. When exterior Christmas light extension cords are run inside through a window, this prevents the window from being secured, and this unsecured window is visibly noticeable. Consider installing an inexpensive exterior outlet for your holiday lights so you don¹t provide an opened and unlocked entry to your home. Traveling Away For The Holidays
·Let your trusted neighbors know that you plan to be out town so that they can watch your home for you. If they see suspicious activity while you are gone, they will know to call 911 for you.
· Have the Post Office hold your mail.
· Don¹t leave descriptive telephone answering machine messages, such
as; ³You¹ve reached the Wilson¹s. We¹re away skiing for the holidays and won¹t be back untilŠ.² Strangers don¹t need to know your schedule or that your home is going to be unoccupied for an extended length of time. Bad guys love to hear that they have plenty of time to break in and ransack your home.
Holiday Parties
· If you will be hosting a party, establish a guest list and greet your
guests at the door. Be careful when opening your home to ³uninvited
guests.²
· Balance the desire to want to show off your valuables and treasures
with security consciousness. Put easily portable valuable items out of
sight. This will reduce the threat that they may be stolen. Also, with those items stored away, your guests won¹t inadvertently mention the priceless items they have seen to others.
· If you are going to be serving liquor, do it responsibly! Have a good selection of non-alcoholic beverages to offer. Serve coffee, tea and water as the party winds down. No one really needs ³One for the Road.²
· If a friend has had too much to drink, insist on making other arrangements for getting them home safely, or offer to let them stay overnight. Remember: Drunk Drivers are dangerous to themselves and others.
· Do Not Drink And Drive Yourself! If you attend a Holiday Party and over indulged, take a cab, have someone give you a ride home, ensure you have a designated driver, or impose upon your hosts to let you stay there and rest a while. Better for you to crash on their couch than into someone else.

A Word On Charities

Be cautious of those going door-to-door collecting for charities. Ask to see an ID that identifies them with that charity. Never give cash. Please report suspicious people. If your instincts tell you ³something is not right,² it probably isn¹t. Call 911 or our non-emergency number (206) 625-5011 to report the incident.

We wish you a happy and joyous Holiday Season. Peace, prosperity and good health to you and yours this Season and in the coming New Year.

Take Care and Stay Safe!

Mark Solomon, SPD South Precinct Crime Prevention

Scammers posing as Seattle City Light collectors

Seattle Times ­ 12.04.07
Seattle City Light is warning its customers about telephone con artists
posing as utility bill collectors.

A City Light customer reportedly received a phone call from someone claiming
to be a City Light employee. The caller claimed there was a problem with
payment of the customer's bill and demanded credit-card information to
resolve the matter.

The scammer appears to be targeting the elderly and customers who may have a
primary language other than English, according to City Light. "We do not
make outbound calls to customers asking for money to pay their bill or to
ask for personal account or customer information as part of our daily work,"
said Carol Dickinson, director of account services.

City Light never asks customers over the telephone for credit-card
information to pay their bills, according to the utility. And City Light
does not call customers on weekends. Seattle City Light employees carry
identification with the City Light logo and will always display it when
asked.

Customers are advised to take down the name and telephone number of anyone
who calls and represents themselves as a City Light employee.

South Precinct Email Community Newsletter - 11.29.07

Sexual Assaults
A pattern of actual or attempted sexual assaults against Asian women has been noted in the South Precinct area. They date back several months, the most recent occurring the morning of November 28th. The frequency of the assaults has increased, as has the level of aggression as the suspect has progressed from groping from behind to attempting to drag the victim away to continue the sexual assault.

The assaults have most often occurred as the women have exited a Metro bus and are on their way home or on their way to the bus in the morning. The suspect has attacked along routes served by the Metro bus routes of the 7, 32 and 36.It is possible that the suspect rides the bus with the victims and follows them off or watches bus stops. The events have primarily happened during the weekday with the majority of assaults occurring on Tuesdays & Wednesday. While the vast majority of events occurred during evening hours, a few of the attacks occurred in the early morning hours.

The suspect has been described as a black male, late teens to early 30s, 5’9”, thin to medium build, medium to dark complexion. The suspect often wears a hooded sweatshirt or otherwise attempts to conceal his face. As the suspect often attacks the victims from behind, distinct suspect information has been lacking because often the victims do not get a good look at the suspect.

An additional complication we face is that many of the victims have been reluctant to speak with detectives in the Sexual Assault Unit to provide further information. In some cases, where the suspect grabbed the woman’s rear, the victims didn’t feel it was serious enough to report because “all he did was grope me. No big deal”

Additionally, many victims have not responded to detectives’ requests for additional information or victim statements, making it difficult to obtain definitive suspect information or identification.

Given this, it is possible that more attacks and more serious assaults have occurred, but have not been reported. This is extremely troubling because the suspect is increasing his frequency of attacks and the attacks are becoming more aggressive. If allowed to continue, we expect the attacks to become even more violent.

We need to identify this individual and get him off the street.

What You Can Do
LOOK AT THESE SAFETY TIPS: personal safety tips from SPD

REPORT IT!!
We urge anyone who has been the victim of a crime to be as forthcoming and cooperative as possible with the responding officers and investigating detectives. Any additional information can be helpful in identifying and apprehending the perpetrator(s) of the crime. Conversely, not disclosing information for whatever reason (thinking it’s no big deal, shame or embarrassment, cultural pressures and considerations) can hinder the investigation.

If you have any information which may help us identify and apprehend the individual, please contact Detective Keith Savas of our Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit at 206.684.5361, email: keith.savas@seattle.gov

Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator

South Precinct Email Community Newsletter

November 7, 2007


Dear Community Friends:

Concerns About Hate Crimes
This past Friday, four incidents of malicious harassment were reported in the Seward Park neighborhood. Two vehicles owned by African American men were spray painted with derogatory language towards African Americans and profane language. A car belonging to the wife of one of the men was also tagged with derogatory language. At a third household, profane language was sprayed on their boat that was on a trailer in front of the home. At a fourth household, a Star of David was spray painted on a car belonging to a Jewish family.

A few things stand out about these incidents:
It appears all these incidents occurred sometime between 10pm November 1 - 3am November 2nd. These incidents all occurred in a very small geographical area, within ½ mile along essentially the same street. They occurred on the 4800 Block of 55th Ave S, the 5000 Block of 57th Ave S, the 5700 Block of S Dawson ST & the 5700 Block of S Orcas ST.

Not a Pattern, Trend or Epidemic of Hate
Incidents of hate crimes, malicious harassment, and racially motivated hate graffiti are extremely rare in our city and even more so in southeast Seattle. In the 17+ years I have worked for the Police Department, I can only recall a handful of incidents where racist, anti-religious or anti-gay literature was strewn about in the South Precinct. To my knowledge, nothing like this has been reported in well over five years.

This is not an epidemic. We do not have crowds of racist groups operating in our South end neighborhoods. No suspects have been identified at this point. It is possible what we have here is one, maybe two perpetrators who are angry about something or who were just carrying out a vicious prank. They probably felt that tagging other people’s property with hateful obscenities would gain them notoriety and somehow make them feel better about themselves. The only difference between these perpetrators and other graffiti vandals is their choice of words and their impact on the community.

Don’t let fear and suspicion win. What I know about this neighborhood is that these neighbors are very well connected with each other. They have one of the highest Block Watch participation rates of anywhere in the city. They have one of the lowest crime rates in the city. They take neighborhood safety very seriously. And I’ve also seen that rather than splintering apart and pointing fingers, they’ve rallied together and are stronger than ever.

Moving Forward and Next Steps
We take any graffiti seriously. We take hate graffiti very seriously. To that end, these incidents are under investigation by our Bias Crimes Unit. Anyone having information that may lead to the identification and arrest those involved are encouraged to call our Bias Crimes Unit at 206-233-3898.

Be Aware!
• Keep your eyes open and report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood.Report It!
• If you see graffiti vandalism in progress, call 911.
• When graffiti appears, whether on your private property or on city/government property, report it. Call the Seattle Police Department’s non-emergency number, 206-625-5011.
• Also call the Graffiti Hot Line 206-684-7587 to report graffiti on public or private property, including Metro bus stops/shelters. Paint it out!

Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator

South Precinct Email Community Newsletter October 17, 2007

Dear Community Friends;
Emergency Preparedness

The Puget Sound region is one of the more difficult areas to forecast severe weather due to the local topography. Everyone should be prepared if wind gusts are higher than anticipated. The Seattle National Weather Service Forecast Office will continue to monitor the evolution of this storm and issue further information as it develops. Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or visit www.weather.gov/seattle
http://www.weather.gov/seattle to view the latest weather statements and forecast discussions regarding this impending storm.


Safety

- Please exercise caution when going out doors during a storm.
Downed power lines, objects in the road and fallen trees are not easy to spot at night.

- Treat all power lines as an electrical hazard until rendered safe by your electrical utility. In Seattle, contact Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light at 206.684.3000 to report power outages and/or downed power lines.

- Ground saturation from previous rain and snow has increased the risk of landslides; please use caution near undeveloped hillsides. Trees may also be more prone to fall in high winds when the ground is saturated.

- Do not use gas generators or charcoal heaters indoors. The potential for carbon monoxide poisoning is high. In previous years, use of these devices indoors for heating and power generation resulted in injuries and fatalities.

Personal Preparedness The Seattle Office of Emergency Management offers skills training classes in the areas of Disaster First Aid, Light Search & Rescue Training and Fire Extinguisher and Utility Safety among others. Additionally, this office provides training in SNAP - Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare. A follow-on to the Seattle Disaster Aid and Response Team (SDART) program, SNAP is the newest preparedness program being offered by the City of Seattle. The program is offered throughout the city to help you, your family and your neighborhoods become better prepared for the next disaster. Learn how to put together a disaster supplies kit, create a family disaster plan and organize with your neighbors to take care of each other when disaster strikes.
For more information about SNAP and the other emergency preparedness training offered, contact the Public Education Section of the Seattle Office of Emergency Management at 206-233-7123. Also visit their website at

www.seattle.gov/emergency.

Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!

Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator

Scam artists target Phinney Ridge - FYI

By Sara Jean Green

Seattle Times staff reporter

A man and a woman who have been going door-to-door in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood soliciting donations for a local nonprofit this morning are scam artists.

Judith Wood, the director of volunteer programs for the Phinney Neighborhood Association, received a telephone call from a resident about the couple early today. The resident told Wood that the duo say they are raising funds for a program at the association's Phinney Neighborhood Center aimed at keeping kids off the streets, off drugs and out of trouble.

Problem is, the association doesn't run any such program.

"We do not do door-to-door solicitations and we don't have any programs designed to keep kids off drugs and off the streets," said Wood. "They have nothing to do with us and we want people to know not to give them any money."

Wood called Seattle police but was told officers can't do anything unless they are able to catch the couple in the act. She's hoping an alert resident will call 911 with a description of the couple and any vehicle they may be driving.

She said they are flashing laminated, photo ID badges in an apparent attempt to appear legitimate and are giving away copies of the association's newspaper, The Phinney Ridge Review. Wood cautioned residents against confronting the scammers, who asked one resident to make out a check to an individual named "Harry."

The Phinney Neighborhood Center is an independent, nonprofit community center at 6532 Phinney Ave. N. The association runs a variety of programs at six locations, including the center, a former school building that houses an after-school care program and a parent-run preschool co-op, Wood said.

South Precinct Email Community Newsletter

Dear Community Friends:

Graffiti
In recent months, there has been a noticeable increase in graffiti vandalism throughout the South Precinct area. We’ve heard concerns that the graffiti is associated with gangs marking their territory. Rather than the graffiti vandalism being associated with gang activity, it appears to us to be more individual tagger vandalism. Tagger graffiti represents the majority of the graffiti on our streets today.

The majority of tagging occurs between the hours of midnight and six in the morning. And while some Taggers justify what they do by calling their graffiti “art,” going out at night alone or with others to write, paint, scratch or etch on someone else’s property is at-risk behavior and a crime. In Seattle, it is estimated that millions of dollars are spent each year to paint out or remove graffiti.

Graffiti is Vandalism. It is not art; it is a crime. It is property damage, not free artistic expression. Graffiti affects the public safety of a neighborhood because if it is allowed to flourish, many people have a sense that the neighborhood is unsafe, and if they don’t feel safe, they’ll stop going to that neighborhood. When that happens, the negative, more criminal, less civil elements take over. Unchecked graffiti is a contributing factor the public safety of a community and how people feel about their community.
If you can’t tell, graffiti really gets on my nerves.

Ways You Can Personally Take Control Of Graffiti In Your Neighborhood:
1. If you see graffiti vandalism in progress, call 911.
2. When graffiti appears, whether on your private property or on city/government property, make a police report. Call the Seattle Police Department’s non-emergency number, 206-625-5011.
3. Call the Graffiti Hot Line 206-684-7587 to report graffiti on public or private property, including Metro bus stops/shelters.
4. After you report the graffiti vandalism, remove or paint over it immediately. This will help prevent more graffiti. For FREE paint, call Seattle Public Utilities Re-Use Store at 206-386-4093. They are located at 3641 2nd Ave S., Seattle, 98134.
5. Ask merchants in your neighborhood to remove graffiti from their buildings. Thank those who remove it quickly.
6. Work with property and business owners. Let them know they have been vandalized if the were unaware (“Hey, did you know there’s graffiti on the back of your fence?”) Offer to help paint it out.
7. Organize a graffiti paint out. Many chamber of commerce and merchants’ associations have done this in the past. For those of you who are members of chambers of commerce, merchant associations, community groups or block watches, devote some time to getting rid of the graffiti in your neighborhood. Contact Seattle Public utilities Graffiti Hotline at 206-684-7587. They have all the supplies you need to keep your block graffiti free.
8. Tell Children "Graffiti is a crime."

We want to work with you to eliminate graffiti vandalism in our neighborhoods.

Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!
Mark Solomon, South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator