North Seattle residents grill SPD about crime rates, ask for action

SEATTLE -- At least 100 concerned neighbors packed a community meeting Tuesday afternoon – and many gave Seattle Police an earful.

Folks living in north Seattle want action, claiming the number of burglaries, car thefts and car prowls are getting out of hand. Some of the crooks are getting pretty brazen.

“You can see the divot here where they set up the ladder,” said homeowner Alyson, who asked not to be identified by her last name. “Then just hopped over the balcony, got through the sliding glass door.”

A crafty crook hit Alyson’s two-story home in Fremont this summer, using a ladder to climb to the second floor -- all while Alyson and her family were sleeping downstairs.

“Some stranger walking through your home while you’re sleeping, it’s terrible to be taken advantage of like that.”



The thief got away with a laptop but it’s not the only time Alyson has been victimized by criminals this year.

“We’ve had three packages stolen off our doorstep in the last year,” she said. “Personally speaking, we’ve had four incidents of crime happen alone. So that’s a spike in my personal life.”

Cameras caught one of the crooks as she strolled right up to Alyson’s front porch last week. She made off with a freshly delivered package.

“Thieves know it’s a good place to come and they get away with it, unfortunately,” said Alyson.

Dozens of people packed a meeting with SPD at the Loyal Heights Community Center to grill the department, demanding they put more officers on the street now,

“We have problems here that really don’t wait that long,” said one concerned neighbor. “We can’t tell the petty criminals that we’re checking out for a year, don’t come back.”

The department’s own crime mapping website shows a slew of car prowls, car thefts and burglaries in north Seattle.

Neighbors said it’s time for them, and the SPD, to crack down on property crime in the area.

“That’s why it’s so important for us, as neighbors, to keep an eye out for each other,” said resident Andy Gregory.

Police officers at the meeting told neighbors that they can’t simply shift officers into the north side from other areas of Seattle because staffing is an issue citywide.