Crime Prevention in Wedgwood

Another packed meeting at Wedgwood Presbyterian. Community Council trustee Howard Todd facilitated. In attendance were hundreds of concerned neighbors, several representatives from the Seattle Police Department and City Prosecutor's office, state representatives Phyllis Gutierrez-Kenney and Jim McIntire, city council member Richard Conlin, and a representative from Seattle Housing Authority.

One theme was how we can make the juvenile justice system work for us despite its limitations. One way is to ensure that elected judges understand the breadth and depth of our community's concern. A petition was circulated. Many supported the idea of having 5-10 community members show up for hearings in local cases. That will require that we know about hearing dates, and improving our communications systems will be key. Victims will get that information through the Victims Assistance Unit and could forward it to the Community Council and/or block watch captains. Demonstrated concern makes it much more likely that we can get specific conditions of release, such as, "this juvenile is released but must not be out after 9 p.m. in Wedgwood." The kids could also be required to talk with us or attend a community meeting.

Since this was a Community Council trustees' meeting, another theme is how can the Council help. Several suggestions were offered, including:

• helping establish block watches on every block
• hosting a crime prevention fair on a Saturday
• adopting alert mechanisms such as an email list
• use the Wedgwood web site as a clearinghouse for information on hearing dates, probation officers, etc.
• writing a community letter that can be given to judges, parole officers, etc.

Richard Conlin noted two city programs we hadn't yet heard about that may be able to help. Mediation Services for Victims and Offenders helps negotiate agreements for restitution. Neighborhood Action Team Seattle brings together multiple parties and resources from block watch to social services for long-term solutions. See phone numbers.

An update from police: the kids are apparently under control at three of the four homes where the kids live. On September14th, there was a non-forced entry burglary and attempted car theft at Wedgwood Estates. As far as the crash that occurred during the last community meeting, one of the juveniles in the car was arrested for the felony of witness intimidation and was released the next day. He was arrested the next day in another stolen car and the hearing was to be the morning of September 18.

A few young people at the meeting had been part of recent incidents. At one point during the meeting, Lt. Mark Olson invited them to speak. One girl apologized for her role in the incidents and said she's turned things around and is getting good grades. When asked what turned her around, she said, "going to jail three times." She named one individual in particular who was responsible for the car thefts and said that kids steal cars for a lot of reasons including money, thrill, and transportation." The crowd affirmed her new direction with applause.

The topic was crime in Wedgwood and it was standing room only in the sanctuary of the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church. Representatives from the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) were on hand to share what information they could and respond to questions.

Midway through a presentation by Virginia Felton, SHA Communications Director, attendees heard a loud crash outside. Officers ran out to investigate. Several minutes later, Officer Mike Thomas returned with a report: two cars had crashed on 35th and ended up on the SW corner of 35th & 80th. An ambulance was called to the scene. The young occupants of one of the cars had fled on foot, but were identified by a bystander. The driver was a 14-year-old girl and at least one of the occupants was an individual known to be involved in recent neighborhood incidents.

Information we received at the meeting is summarized in the Question & Answer section.