Community Post

Everyone at EPCPC agrees: It’s been "eerily quiet" recently

There was so little bad news at last night’s East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition that one participant joked that the format may have to be changed and everyone will have to bring good community building stories just to fill the time.

The the discussion circled around the room, person after person noted how few issues there were in their area:

  • Seattle U – Seen some problems with graffiti around the perimeter of the school, but not much else
  • Leschi – “very quiet on all of the blockwatches”, and the area around 28th & 29th is much improved after some problem tenants were removed
  • Squire Park – Some disturbing graffiti around Swedish, but overall “much quieter.” A slight uptick in drug activity at 21st & Union, with 2-3 incidents seen in the last month
  • 27th & Spring – Activity at one problem house has been low for a while, but may be picking up again. One problem resident who was gone for a while is now back
  • 24th & Spring – Some new problems with panhandlers around Key Bank, but nothing else
  • 24th & Olive – Issues with illegal dumping in an alley there, and one neighborhood resident was seen doing a drug deal there too. 
  • 23rd & Union – One resident says it’s been “unusually quiet” around the post office, but there were 2nd-hand reports that other residents have seen an uptick in issues there. SPD also said that they’re aware of increased problems and increasing patrols in the area.

East Precinct Captain Dermody said the official stats show a clear decrease in crime too:

  • Part 1 crimes (felonies, the most serious) are down 36% between 2005 and the end of 2009
  • Residential burglaries are down to 31 in the last month, compared to an average of 53
  • Non-residential burglaries are down to 8, vs. an average of 21 each month
  • Auto thefts are down from a recent high two months ago
  • A prolific car prowler has been arrested, and SPD is hoping to see a big decrease in those crimes as a result
  • The gang unit made an arrest near 23rd & Union on Wednesday. Suspect was on parole, and found to be carrying drugs. He’s now in jail without bail while detectives build a case.

We also got a detailed presentation from the leaders of SPD’s Special Assault Unit, which handles sexual assaults and monitors sex offenders in the city. Four of their eleven detectives are assigned to keep a constant tab on the whereabouts of registered sex offenders, making sure that their registrations are up to date and arresting them if they fail to comply with the state’s strict notification laws.

There’s 1,100 sex offenders in the city of Seattle, and 223 currently live in the East Precinct. Of those in the east, 36 are designated Level 3, which are considered the most likely to reoffend.

SPD has ceased using mail to notify residents of sex offenders who move into neighborhoods, and now suggest everyone use King County’s Offender Watch website, where you can search in your own area and set up email notifications to get notified when they move around.

0 thoughts on “Everyone at EPCPC agrees: It’s been "eerily quiet" recently

  1. Whenever I see the maps on the daily scanner there is usually an empty spot around 23rd and Union. Pike and Pine on Cap Hill gets a lot of action as does Jackson St. The quiet along 23rd seems to coincide with the startup time of the DMI. It could be that the work the city is doing is having a solid effect.
    Since it is so quiet on the streets crime wise how about we fill up the streets with fun stuff so there won’t be room for the trouble to come back.

  2. The scanner reports and recent EPCPC meeting misrepresents the situation around 23/U. If you doubt this, take a few walks around the area. I pass through frequently (usually in the evening or at night) and have noticed a steady increase in activity since mid-February (rain and shine): lookouts, drug dealing, people yelling for their pipe, prostitution, some nice new tags on Key Bank property, strung out people,drug litter … all very familiar. The market is back, folks.

  3. One person’s observations should be taken for what it is…statistically speaking, not much…I think the PoPo’s stats are more reliable,

    I live incredibly close to 23rd and Union – only a few people live closer than me. I also work appx 50% from home. So I am here about 75% of the time minimum. It does SEEM to me that the corner is quieter, quite noticeably. Occasionaly that famous house on Union and 22 has some sporadic ‘activity’, but not as much as when it was bumping last summer. The Key Bank lot can still get full of loitererers , but no major incidents have occurred recently, and the crowd doesnt seem to be the ‘tagging’ kind. I think the DMI, along with noticeable police presence at their corner office helps a lot.

    I agree that we should all be wary, but let’s be hopeful too, and keep supporting our neighbors’ businesses and the city’s efforts!

  4. A lot of the action is on 24th. Check that out. Or, if you like police reports, here’s a reminder of what Capt. Dermody said at the meeting (copied from above): “SPD also said that they’re aware of increased problems and increasing patrols in the area [23rd Union].”

    In addition, notice that the kinds of crimes listed in the stats above aren’t the same ones associated (directly) with an open-air drug market. I can confirm both increased problems and increased patrols. The drug market is making a comeback. We’ll see who wins the day.

  5. as long as there is demand for drugs there will be supply. only when the value of the real estate around 23rd and Union displaces the value of it as a drug market will the problem disappear.

    a $smart solution would be to encourage through tax breaks or credits or whatever etc development on all of the empty or underutilized lots in the 2 block radius around 23rd.

    otherwise we’re just moving the rat traps around.