Reports continue to come in from northeast Seattle neighborhoods, including Wedgwood, of car thefts, package thefts from porches and home break-ins. Crime patterns are shown on the City of Seattle’s neighborhood map (choose “northeast” to see the Wedgwood area.) Another good way to keep track of trends is on Nextdoor.
The Seattle Police Department’s Auto Theft Prevention info indicates that most stolen cars are used as “temporary transportation by common criminals” and that about 86% of stolen cars are recovered. To prevent car break-ins or theft, keep a parked car locked at all times, even in your own driveway. Do not leave items visible inside, and get deterrents such as a car alarm or anti-theft locking device.
Report any car which remains parked for more than 72 hours and doesn’t belong to neighbors — it may be a stolen car which has been left there.
Other frequently-occurring crimes in Wedgwood and in surrounding neighborhoods are mailbox theft and theft of packages left on porches. These thefts increase at the holiday gift-giving season. It would be wise to plan for deliveries to be made when someone is at home to immediately bring in the package, or make alternative delivery arrangements. It is not realistic to expect that a package will still be on your porch if delivered and left there all day. It is apparent that thieves are following the delivery trucks of UPS, FedEx and etc. Other neighborhoods near to Wedgwood also are reporting very high incidents of package theft. Here are recent package-theft reports from Laurelhurst and Maple Leaf.