Amy emails:
Hi Mike & neighbors~
I’m writing to let everyone know that lots of thefts are happening in our neighborhood right now… Can you please remind our neighbors that it is ever-so-crucial to file a police report for even the most benign theft? It’s very easy to do online, and you can even include pictures.
In a recent crime prevention meeting we learned that Officer Kennedy (the Maple Leaf community officer) was not even aware of our growing problems of mail theft, package theft (including home-delivered groceries), car prowls, etc. If a police report is not filed, the police department is not aware of the growing issue and the need to justify more patrolling (& hiring).
Crime – car prowls, mail theft, burglaries – have been a constant theme since Maple Leaf Life launched six-ish years ago. We have never managed to demonstrate we are more victimized then the rest of the city – and we’ve tried. (Map shows police reports here since the beginning of November.)
Many neighbors appreciate news of crime occurring here. Some don’t. We’ve had people complain that the bank robbery we posted really occurred – not here! -but in some other neighborhood (i.e., literally across the street in Northgate), that we are conflating Maple Leaf with the dreaded Pinehurst, that reporting crime news lowers their property value.
A good summation of our response(s) from five years ago is here (note the comments):
Roundup of neighborhood crimes – and why we write about them.
“We do operate on the basic assumption that it’s better to know than to not know.”
Amy continues:
In the past week alone, I’ve found…
* several piles of stolen (& opened) mail around 12th Ave NE, 15th Ave NE, Ne 98th, NE 97th, & NE 96th.
* 2 stolen bags of home delivered groceries scattered on the sidewalk.
* an increase of empty beer bottles on the streets & in round-abouts on 12th Ave NE.
And since early November I’ve heard of several home burglaries and car prowls, and have also been the victim of similar crimes myself in the past two months.
A Twitter feed of our Neighborhood’s Police Beat (L2, aka Lincoln 2), can be found here:
https://twitter.com/seattlepdl2?lang=en
Please, let’s be extra alert for one another and report suspicious activity and signs of theft, even if not of your own property.
PS: Some reporting info from SPD, so that you have it handy to relay….
EMERGENCIES
If you have just seen or experienced a crime, or one is in progress, call 9-1-1 immediately. This is not limited to life-emergencies as many people believe; by all means call and let the 911 dispatcher determine how to forward your call. Again, it’s important to bring all issues up to the police.
NON EMERGENCIES
If the crime happened a while ago and there is no direct danger to you or another person, please call the police non-emergency line at: (206) 625-5011.
ONLINE REPORTING
You can use our community online reporting program <http://www.seattle.gov/police/report/default.htm>
for the following crimes:
Property Destruction
Identity Theft
Car Prowls
Auto Accessories
Theft of Property (under $500)
Narcotics Activity
Graffiti
