The June Queen Anne Community Council meeting last Wednesday night was highlighted by a visit from Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct Captain Joe Kessler and Sergeant Paul Gracy – both natives of the Queen Anne/Magnolia area.
The crime rates in Queen Anne remain relatively low, said Kessler.
“Overall Queen Anne is one of the safest areas around,” said Kessler.
Violent crime rates are down only a little from the same time last year, but Kessler said they weren’t that high to begin with. Car prowls and car thefts are down significantly from the same time last year. Burglaries, however, are up slightly.
“Burglaries are one of those tough ones for us,” said Kessler. “Personally, I hate burglaries. Short of a violent crime, I think one of the worst things that can happen to you as a citizen is to have a burglary.”
Burglaries tend to come in bunches and are often perpetrated by the same individuals, so that once a burglar is caught it often brings the number of burglaries down, said Kessler. The SPD has been working with the prosecutor’s office extensively to target repeat burglars under the Repeat Burglary Initiative.
“We’re concentrating on the prolific guys that need to be in jail for a substantive period of time,” said Kessler.
Concerns over budget cuts and staffing were also discussed. The number of department staff is expected to remain stable despite budget cuts, said Kessler. SPD is firm on not cutting any of their patrol officers, and the current numbers are the highest they’ve ever been, said Kessler. However, increases in overall officers, like they’ve seen in previous years, is likely to stop.
The Crime Prevention Coordinators, who coordinate block watches and other neighborhood actions, may be phased out at the end of this year, said Kessler. It hinges on what the budget looks like for mid-year, but those positions will probably disappear, Kessler said.
“They do an incredible service, and they help the officers out tremendously,” said Kessler. “It’ll be a difficult thing for us to replace that … I don’t know how we will.”
It was encouraged by Kessler and Gracy that residents take advantage of the SPD’s online resources, in particular the SPD Crime Blotter for the West Precinct and the crime statistics on My Neighborhood Map. The King County online sex offender search was also mentioned.
Council Chair Ellen Monrad brought up the issue of the 7-Eleven the sells high-octane alcohol drinks on the hill. Gracy said officers have met with owner to discuss the problem, as well as notify the liquor control board. Stings to try to catch staff selling alcohol to minors have been performed, and they are working on an operation to address homeless buying alcohol for minors, said Gracy.
A few councilmembers discussed the problem of car speeding and drag racing along 10th Avenue West late at night. Gracy said they would make local patrol officers aware of the situation, and it was recommended that residents petition SDOT for a mobile speed monitor.
After the talk by Kessler and Gracy, the council discussed briefly the elections coming up in September, and Councilmember Nicole Pastarnack volunteered to be chair of the elections committee.
The committee reports followed, including: