January NPAC Meeting

Police Chief John Diaz was the speaker at the Jan 2011 North Precinct Advisory Coun- cil Meeting. He said that at one time auto theft in Seattle was one of the highest rates in the country. But there has been a huge drop of auto thefts in the last few years. He also said that many offenders do all types of crimes so one arrest may solve a variety of offenses. He believes in listening to the neighborhoods & work- ing with the community. Our homicide rate is the lowest in 56 years. He wants to concentrate on safety and security and get officers out of their cars & back into the neighbor- hoods. That way, officers answering calls will be fa- miliar with the area and it's people. There are 1300 police officers in Seattle that handle 500,000 calls each year. He believes that answering 911 calls is the most important job. Response time currently runs about six minutes, which is better than most cities.. In order to keep up with the 911 the SPD will need 2 in each of the 17 sectors in the coming years, if funding can be found. But the current budget crisis continues to limit the hiring of new officers. In 2010, the North Precinct had two crime prevention coordinators. Due to budget cuts, there is only one, Diane Horswill, for the entire North end of Seattle. Burglary rates have been down, due in part to the cold weather. However, that didn't stop a break in to an occu- pied house, after a New Year's Eve party. The house is located on N. 122nd St. just west of Meridian. The family's car was stolen as well as other belongings. This is the same house that was burglarized during the day- time several months ago. An elderly woman was assaulted, during a early morning walk, at Greenlake. The SPD is advising to use good judg- ment if you are going to be out alone during the dark winter days. It is better to be out with a companion or wait until daylight hours. Please contact me if you are having any problems in your area. I represent you at the North Precinct every month.

Public Safety Chair
206 361 6809
meljacobson@comcast.net