A recent post about a carjacking on NW 67th Street has generated an ongoing comment thread and e-mails about car crime in the neighborhood, including two reports of stolen cars in the past few weeks – and that’s just coming from the lovely readers who have stumbled across our blog.
MonkeyPilot says a friend’s car was stolen on Monday from 83th Street and Stolen Truck says their 15-year-old pickup disappeared three weeks ago, only to turn up in Snohomish County, stripped of a bunch of parts. Break-ins are very common. We’ve experienced it recently and we just found out that a neighbor scared away a young thief going through another neighbor’s car at 2 a.m. a couple weeks ago.
In the carjacking comment thread, Concerned suggests security cameras to deter crime. Cell phone armed people near Greenwood Park have organized night-time walks through the park to let loiterers and potential vandals know someone is watching.
What kinds of crime are you seeing and what do you think we should be doing to combat it?
14 responses so far ↓
1 Noah // Aug 14, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I’ve had my car (Honda Accord) broken into twice, stolen once. Lower Phinney area. I put the CLUB on my wheel at night, and try to park in a well lit area on the street (or in my driveway if possible). I don’t leave anything of value in the car (at least nothing I don’t mind getting stolen). I’ve toyed with the idea of putting a motion sensor camera somewhere, but it’s been price-prohibitive so far…
2 Bella // Aug 14, 2008 at 12:43 pm
When I lived on 52nd and 8th, my car was broken into and laptop was stolen out of a discrete, closed case no, it should not have been in there in the first place, but that’s another story). My neighbor also had a laptop in his car, which was not broken into. His house was right on the corner, and I believe there’s a pretty big streetlight there – his car/driveway created some concealment for mine, which was broken into from the darker side away from 8th.
Park on busier streets or closer to them, or to brighter lights whenever possible. Your driveway is not always the solution! Install good lighting for your driveway if you can.
3 MonkeyPilot // Aug 14, 2008 at 4:04 pm
The only crimes I’ve seen in the neighborhood are petty property crimes – simple vandalism. But especially if there is suspicious behavior or an unfamiliar person around, just talking to them is often a great deterrent. Nothing confrontational – just “can I help you?” or “you seem confused,” is usually enough to send a potential vandal or thief on their way. They know they’re being observed, and obviously someone engaged enough to confront them wouldn’t mind calling the police if necessary.
4 Evan // Aug 14, 2008 at 5:19 pm
We live near 7th and 70th, and it has been a safe spot for us so far. We regularly park on the street, walk all around at night, and there are lots of folks out.
One odd thing that happened recently though, someone left a bunch of hiking food and some equipment on a bench we have on the sidewalk in front of our house. We assumed that it was unsellable stuff a thief pulled out of a stolen backpack.
Maybe just a few more police patrols at night would work well, seems like car theft is the big concern. I certainly don’t see a need for security cameras or other high security – big brother measures in our hood.
5 Bella // Aug 14, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Yeah, I heard something about security cameras going in at Cal Anderson on Cap Hill, and the problems it was causing. People just need to be present in the neighborhood when they can so that suspicious persons know that they will be seen doing whatever they shouldn’t.
6 Brian // Aug 15, 2008 at 10:16 am
acura integra stolen last week on 62nd and sycamore. Week prior neighbors had 5 cars broken into. We live in bad neighborhoods. Buy the club…
7 Chris // Aug 15, 2008 at 11:01 am
We live on 84th between 6th and 8th and have been victim of two car crimes. First our Honda Accord was stolen and found 2 weeks later just a few blocks away, no significant damage other than ignition damage from a screw driver. The funny thing about this one was it was completely out of gas, so the thief took it for a joy ride and then ran out of gas just a few blocks away from where they stole it? Our Subaru was broken into and our portable XM radio was stolen (worth a whopping $20). Significant damage was done to the door frame when the idiot pried it open.
8 Ron // Aug 18, 2008 at 3:29 pm
On Sixth Avenue, just south of 80th,
we’ve witnessed occaisional suspicious car/foot traffic, folks hopping into cars, circling the block, maybe drug buys/prostitution?
I have to agree with Monkey Pilot. The best deterent remains neighborhood involvement.
9 jm // Aug 22, 2008 at 9:50 am
Between 60th and 62nd on 1st NW, Sycamore and 2nd NW we have monthly visits by night time prowlers. It’s a regular stop for somebody.
10 LP // Aug 23, 2008 at 12:42 am
Evan, I wish I had checked this blog earlier! Our car was broken into and they took two bags: my diaper bag, and our emergency backpack from the trunk. There was some camping gear and food in the emergency bag making it a heavy bag to steal. As I mentally total the cost of replacing the items in the bags (even the baby items), I’m still stunned at the replacement value. Our car was in our driveway with a motion-sensor light, so now we don’t leave anything in the car we don’t mind losing–an expensive lesson.
11 jm // Aug 24, 2008 at 9:36 am
Car alarms seem to help keep the creepers away.
12 Dianna // Sep 1, 2008 at 6:54 pm
After a few incidents of older cars being rifled through (even when parked up high in my driveway) my first car was stolen from right in front of my house at 2:30 in the afternoon, while I was at home and the front door was unlocked! A year later my second car was stolen from the same spot in the middle of the night. Both were minivans with no alarm, both recovered within a couple of days with minor damage. Six months ago my Jeep (parked in the same spot but with a dead battery) was broken into with an attempt to steal, but they couldn’t start it (haha). They probably thought it didn’t have an alarm because the little red light wasn’t blinking.
My advice: assume your car will be broken into at some point and anything valuable will be stolen. If it is a model that is easy to hotwire (minivan) or popular for parts (Honda) it is likely to be stolen – often just for a joyride (which is a gang initiation rite). Your best defense is to park in a well-lit space and use an alarm that is obvious and won’t let the engine start when activated. I also got a lower deductible on my insurance.
13 frank // Oct 3, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Just wanted to let everyone know of another car break in at 76th and greenwood – it was in our driveway and they went through everything – they even took our CD’s – who wants CD’s anymore? They grabbed all they could and left a trail of our stuff around the neighborhood as they sifted through it. Creepy.
14 Jon // Oct 5, 2008 at 12:31 am
Had a break in at 84th and 3rd on Sept 26th for a 1994 Black Jeep Grand Cherokee. They rifled through the glove and took nothing. They did destroy the ignition slot cylinder and thus shorted the electrical system. They completely chiseled it out and tried to hot wire it but failed.
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