EDITORS NOTE: This is the newsletter the SPD regularly publishes and does not address 

the recent murder that took place this week on Beach Drive.

Seattle Police Email Community Newsletter

March 16, 2012

Dear Community Friends,

Residential Burglary Trend
In a previous newsletter, we told you about the trend of young women increasingly being 

involved in burglary, either as the lookout, or as the person who knocks on the door to see 

if anyone answers, and then signaling to the rest of the burglary crew whether or not it’s

 “safe” to continue with the burglary.

We’ve also noticed repeat burglaries at the same address. We’ve noted cases where a home 

has been burglarized and some time later the same home is burglarized again. This could be 

because of burglars waiting for the homeowners to replace the items that were stolen and 

then going back to steal those items as well, or the burglar came back to get items not taken 

during the first burglary. Regardless, burglars found what they considered an easy target,

 and unless the residents take steps to make their home more secure, that home will 

continue to be an easy target.

What You As Residents Can Do
To combat the repeats burglary trend, our primary recommendation is to take the steps 

necessary to enhance your home security. Start by closing and locking all doors and 

windows when you are away from home, even for short periods of time. Prune back 

shrubbery to reduce any hiding spots that might make it possible for a burglar to try to 

gain entry through a door or window without being seen. Ensure you have dead bolt locks 

on all exterior doors and 3”-4” long screws in the strike plates of your locks. The longer 

screws make it more difficult to force open a properly locked door when the deadbolt is 

engaged. Use dowels or Charlie bars for sliding glass windows or doors. Secure tools and 

ladders so they can’t be used to gain entry to your home or the home of a neighbor. Know 

to know your neighbors. The more you know who your neighbors are, the better able you 

are to identify those individuals who do not live in your neighborhood. Be attentive to 

what is going on. If you see something or someone that seems out of place or suspicious, 

do not hesitate to call 911 and each other. If you see something, say something.

Home and Business Security Assessments
Your Crime Prevention Coordinators provide free home and business security assessments.

If you are interested in having us evaluate your home or business to provide recommen- 

dations for security improvement, please contact us. 

South & Southwest Precincts: Mark Solomon (206) 386-9766, mark.solomon@seattle.gov

Street Robbery Update
The spike of street robberies that we were seeing primarily in the South Precinct area in 

the latter part of 2011 seems to have peaked. The number of street robberies has declined.

Some of this decrease is the result of great police work on the part of our officers and 

detectives in identifying suspects and making solid arrests. Those successes, however, are 

due in large part to timely reporting of the crime and good suspect descriptions by folks in 

the community. For this, we thank you!

Even though the numbers of robberies have decreased, robberies still occur throughout 

Seattle. Our December 6, 2011 newsletter provides great detail regarding Personal Safety 

and Robbery Prevention and response measures. Some of the key points are reprinted 

here. Scan your surroundings and make eye contact with people, not to stare them down, 

but to let them know that you are aware of them and acknowledge their presence. This 

sends the message that you not only know they are there, but you can also identify them 

if necessary. Walk confidently. Project an assertive, business-like image.

Avoid walking or jogging alone at night. As much as possible, walk or travel with a friend, 

even during the daytime. Stay on paths that are well lit where you can easily see and be 

seen. Follow your intuition. Pay close attention to the uncomfortable feelings that often 

warn us of potential danger. “Trust Your Gut.” If you feel that a situation is not right, 

move out of the situation. Trusting your own instincts that a situation feels "wrong" can 

be the best personal safety tool you have. Don’t be afraid to cross the street, change 

directions, return to a business, or ask for help based on that “funny feeling;” you may be 

right. If you are being followed, or you see a person or group that makes you feel 

uncomfortable, give yourself permission to act; cross the street, walk in another direction, 

go in to a business, or ask other people walking if you may walk a short distance with 

them. Always dress so that your movements are not restricted. Wear clothing and shoes 

that allow you to move freely and quickly. Carry your valuables safely. Don’t display items 

(e.g., iPods, iPhones, cash), when walking to and from your destination. Don’t use or flash 

valuables like laptops, iPods, iPads or iPhones on the bus or train. If someone demands 

your property and displays or implies in any way that they have a weapon, don't resist. 

Physical property isn’t worth getting injured or killed over.

Community Walks
The Seattle Police Department and the South Seattle Crime Prevention Council have been 

sponsoring community safety walks in a number of South Precinct neighborhoods. As 

neighbors walk together, they send a strong message of unity and that crime - and the 

conditions that foster crime - will not be tolerated. These walks bring neighbors together 

to identify public safety issues in their neighborhoods, such as street light outages, areas 

with poor visibility for pedestrians, broken sidewalks, graffiti, etc. Neighbors from New 

Holly, Lockmore, North Rainier, Beacon Hill, Rainier Beach and Columbia City have all 

conducted safety walks in their communities and have been joined by neighbors from 

other communities. Some neighborhoods, such as Highland Park/White Center, have 

upcoming walks scheduled, while others, such as Georgetown, are in the planning stages. 

For more information about these community safety walks, please contact the South 

Seattle Crime Prevention Council at sscpc@hotmail.com. If you are interested in 

participating in a community walk, or want to plan one for your area, we can be of service 

to you and can connect you with those community groups that are leading these efforts. 

Some of those groups are listed in the following section.

Community Partners

There are a number of great community based organizations with whom the Seattle Police 

Department partners, not only for the above mentioned safety walks, but for other 

community crime prevention and crime response activities. In addition to the various 

neighborhood councils, individual block watches, chambers of commerce and merchant 

associations, we encourage community members to get involved to the extent that you 

can, with the groups in your community. While not an exhaustive list, we want to 

recognize some of our community partners in East, South, and Southwest Precincts (and 

I apologize up front for any I miss; no offense is intended).

The East Precinct Advisory Council (www.eastpac.org) The Georgetown Community 

Council (http://www.georgetownneighborhood.com/) Lockmore Neighborhood 

(http://www.lockmore.org/blog/) New Holly Neighbors Traffic and Safety Committee 

(newhollyneighbors@yahoogroups.com) New Rainier Vista Traffic and Safety Committee 

(trafficsafety@newrainiervista.com) The North Beacon Hill Council 

(http://north-beacon-hill.blogspot.com/) The Rainier Beach Empowerment Coalition 

(http://www.rbcoalition.org/) Seattle Neighborhood Group 

(http://www.sngi.org/welcome/index.php) The South Park Neighborhood Association 

(http://www.allaboutsouthpark.com) The South Seattle Crime Prevention Council

(sscpc@hotmail.com) The West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network 

(http://wsblockwatchnet.wordpress.com/) The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council 

(http://wscpc.blogspot.com/)

Thank you for all you do for your neighborhoods. Until next time, Take Care and Stay Safe!

Mark Solomon, Crime Prevention Coordinator, mark.solomon@seattle.gov, 206.386.9766

 

Some Beach Drive neighbors were contacted by the Seattle Police after 2 am this morning to learn their cars were damaged by punks.  Windows were broken on the west side of the street and some of the cars may have items stolen.  There are at least four cars that I'm aware of south of Jacobson on Beach Drive. 

 

UPDATE 1:42 PM:  We've learned that about 3 – 4 other cars were damaged further south on Beach Drive around the 6000 block.

This morning we learned from a neighbor that a home around the 4500 block of Beach Drive was vandalized.  Apparently they had been away from home for a couple days for Thanksgiving and returned to find their back door open and the home vandalized.

Thanks to our Beach Drive neighbor for sharing this information so we all be informed of what's happening in our neighborhood.  

 

Thanks to a watchful neighbor, a burglery was stopped earlier this week (on Wednesday afternoon) on the 5900 block of Beach Drive.  From the neighbor's email:

A young man about 18-20 years old was taking items from the residence (flat screen TV, stereo equipment, computer equipment, etc) and was putting them in his car parked in front of the house.  I observed this from across the street and asked him what he was doing, and his response was “I’m taking these things because they owe me money”.  I called 911 and was speaking to the dispatcher when the individual brought out the family dog and put it in his car also.  Another note is that the car had no license plates.  The police arrived and arrested the suspect and then brought their K-9 unit to search for his accomplices who fled into the neighborhood.  I spoke to one police officer who said the suspect had a military type stun-gun and a 14” knife on his possession when arrested.

The suspects car is red in the photo below.

 Handcuffed suspect being taken away by the Seattle Police.

A huge tip of the hat to John for this information.  Remember, you can always call 9-1-1 if you see something that doesn't seem right.

This message has been posted by Kelly Irvine on BDB's Facebook page:

Our dear friend~Jeremy Peck was found deceased in the water on Bainbridge Island.

He went missing from West Seattle~last seen at the Admiral Pub on Dec. 23rd~early hours of the 24th.  There has been some confusion on the date since the 24th is Xmas Eve and all.  Please take a minute to think back~if you were on Alki or any waterfront area in West Seattle between 1:45-4ish am .

I'm thinking not to many people were out so any sightings of a vehicle or people out could help us generate tips. Someone knows what happened and might not even know it.

Thank you

TIPLINE: 206-478-4905

Jeremy's DOB: 12-10-86

6'1"  177 lbs.

Brown hair and brown eyes

Last seen wearing blue jeans, DC shoes, gray hoodie type sweatshirt and black waist length over-coat.

Link to Find Jeremy Peck on Facebook    There is a fundraiser on this Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the Heartland Cafe/Benbow Room from 8:00 – 11:00 p.m.   More information to follow via the Facebook link.

Just south of Jacobson, last night someone ripped off the wheels from a Honda Fit.

 
It's amazing that crime can take place steps away from our homes while we sleep with no one seeing or hearing a thing.

It's important to report all crimes, including non-emergency, to the Seattle Police Department at (206) 625-5011.

If a crime happens in our neighborhood it's also important to share it with your Block Watch Captain and please consider forwarding it to Beach Drive Blog so we can all be aware and alert of crime trends in our neighborhood.

Just learning via email this morning of a couple burgurlies that recently happened around the 5600 block area of Beach Drive:

The house next door was broken into night before last-it had been empty due to the owner moving back and forth to her new residence. Now we hear that the house 2 doors away from hers was also burglarized.  If I get any more details I will alert you.  

 

 

Sometime last night or this morning someone through a baseball sized rock through the back of a Volvo SUV on the 4700 block of Beach Drive.   It does not appear any items were stolen.    

  

 

If you witnessed anything or if this happened to you as well, please send us an email. 

UPDATE:  Apparently a couple of other cars were vandalized on Beach Drive too.   I also read in the West Seattle Blog forums that someone noticed 6 cars struck by vandals on Beach Drive.