Here’s a story from today’s Seattle Times that may be of interest to CD residents:
Cops tackle growing gang problem
Even without hard numbers, police say they’re encountering more gang-related crimes, and not just in Seattle neighborhoods that have traditionally seen heavy gang activity. Places like Northgate and Queen Anne are seeing problems.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004430842_gang22m.html
It’s great to see someone reporting on this issue. However, even more important would be for the Times to run an “expose” linking the changes on our streets to cuts made over 4 years ago in city wide gang units. In 2003, police coming to our house to deal with a break-in, were the first to say that they’d seen program cuts based on city leader’s assessments that things were getting better and the expense was no longer necessary. Anybody really living in the Central or South parts of Seattle knew that this was a recipe for escalating violence and trouble down the line. The police officer’s as much as said the same. It’s no coincidence with economic times as hard as they are, and the decrease in programming investing in our youth, that we’re now dodging bullets.