National Night Out 2018
Tuesday, August 7
Night Out is a national event promoted locally by Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our communities. To participate in Night Out and to have your street closed, you must officially register your Night Out event with the City of Seattle. Registration is open until August 6.
An invitation from Councilmember Johnson’s office:
National Night Out is an annual event with the goal of increasing public safety by promoting neighborhood connections. This year, Night Out is August 1.
Neighbors are encouraged to plan block parties and can close their streets to traffic for the evening. To do so, register with the City by Monday at 5:00 p.m.
Want to see if there are events planned on your block? Check out the online map to find out.
Need materials for your event? Publicity materials are also available online.
Planning a block party for Seattle Night Out? Apply for a Small Sparks grant to build stronger community connections.
Seattle University is hosting crime and safety focus groups in June and July. Join the upcoming focus group at the Green Lake Library on July 18, 6:15 p.m. and provide input about crime, safety, and policing in our neighborhood.
On Tuesday August 1, the City of Seattle will celebrate the annual Night Out. The registration link for Night Out 2017 is: https://www.seattle.gov/police/community-policing/night-out. The website includes an invitation template to distribute to neighbors, street closure signs, and a map to see where events will take place.
Night Out is a national event to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite communities. Neighbor participation in Night Out continues to grow every year. It’s fun, it’s free and it’s a great chance to reconnect with neighbors and share information with each other while learning more about crime prevention. Getting together with your neighbors, re-committing to watch out for each other, and reaffirming you will report suspicious activity to police are ways to show you care about your community.
Slides from the January 18 Seattle Police Department’s SeaStat meeting provide information about 2016 crime in the city.
Overall, crime was slightly up (by 1.44%) last year compared to 2015. Reported rapes increased by 56% between 2015 and 2016 while homicides decreased by 25%.
The graph below breaks out crime by precinct. The North Precinct is the largest with 40% of the Seattle population living here and encompassing all of the land north of Ship Canal.
In the North Precinct, overall crime increased by 4% between 2015 and 2016. With 43 reported in 2016, rape increased by 34% north of the Ship Canal. Homicides were down 33% with 2 occurring in the north end last year.
During the January 4 SeaStat meeting, information about the city’s changing population was shared. The slide below shows how large the North Precinct (the grey line) is compared to the others and that its population grew by 11% over the past 6 years.
As the data above show, car prowls are a problem citywide. Visit SPD’s crime prevention page to lean how to prevent car prowls.
A message from Mary Amberg, the Seattle Police Department North Precinct’s Crime Prevention Coordinator:
We are at a time of year when we see an increase in package thefts from homes. Some package thieves will follow or watch for delivery trucks and then target a home after a delivery is made. Other thieves may just happen to see the package left at the doorstep of the home, in plain view of the street, and help themselves.
To reduce the opportunity for packages to be left unattended on your porch, we encourage you to communicate with the carrier and request one of the following delivery options:
If none of the above are viable options, at the very least request the package be placed in a discrete location not visible from the street.
The SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator’s can help with:
Earlier this year, neighbors in the area surrounding NE 85th Street between 21st Avenue NE and Ravenna Avenue NE engaged in a major cleanup effort in the area. The work included clean-up of trash, greenway overgrowth, and illegal dumping. Neighbors also began initial restoration of the wetlands on the east end of the street. With vouchers from the City of Seattle, neighbors removed over 15 tons of brush and debris and over 1 ton of illegal dumping.
Neighbors submitted a Neighborhood Street Fund proposal, called Re-Imagining NE 85th Street, that ranked in the top 5 among proposed NE Seattle projects. Though the proposal was not funded, neighbors are now in the process of obtaining permits from the Seattle Department of Transportation to implement part of the project to restore the native habitat along a planting strip on the south side of the street. The goal is to create a visually appealing and vibrant landscape.
The project includes planting low-growing native shrubs and other native perennial plants within the city right of way. Members of the Seattle Green Partnership have volunteered their time for the conceptual design and a local non-profit is donating 200 native plants.
Organizers are now looking for volunteers.
Interested in learning more? Contact Ana at 206-527-2452.
Seattle University is administering the citywide 2016 Seattle Public Safety Survey. The purpose of the survey is to solicit feedback on public safety and security concerns from those who live and/or work in Seattle. A report on the survey results will be provided to the Seattle Police Department to assist them with making your neighborhood safer and more secure.
The survey is accessible at publicsafetysurvey.org until November 30th and is available in Amharic, Chinese, English, Korean, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Public safety and security are community concerns. Please make sure your voice is heard by completing the public safety survey today. If you would like to work with a Seattle University researcher to setup outreach and assist in the facilitation of the survey to your communities or organizations, or you would like more information about the survey, please contact Jessica Chandler at Jessica.Chander@seattle.gov.
From the Seattle Police Department:
This weekend, the Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are hosting the 12th semi-annual event to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft by disposing of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted drugs.
This Saturday, October 22nd, the city’s five precincts will serve as drop-off locations between 10 AM and 2 PM for any unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last April, Americans turned in 447 tons (over 893,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 11 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 6.4 million pounds—more than 3,200 tons—of pills.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
This summer, the new Seattle Police Department North Precinct micro-community policing research assistant from Seattle University, Jessica Chandler, will be conducting focus groups to gain community input about public safety. She is interested in talking to all the micro-communities in the North Precinct area about knowledge of the Micro-Community Policing Plan, interactions with the Seattle Police Department, crime and safety concerns, and suggested improvements for each unique neighborhood. The focus groups are semi-structured and typically last one hour. The groups are open to anyone living or working in the specific neighborhoods.
The Roosevelt/Ravenna focus group will take place Tuesday August 9, 6:00-7:00pm at the Green Lake Public Library Branch (7364 E. Green Lake Dr. N.) For more information about the focus group, contact Jessica at Jessica.Chandler@seattle.gov.
If you haven’t already seen it, a section was added to the Micro-Community Policing Plan website that allows people to sort data according to neighborhood and type of crime. For example, a search for 2016 residential burglaries in the Roosevelt/Ravenna area shows that there were a total of 92 between January and June with the most in January (20) and the fewest in May (9).
Earlier this year, SPD recognized the Ravenna-Bryant area as a “hot spot” for home burglaries. The map below is part of the March 2 SeaStat report.
If your block plans to participate in this year’s Annual Night Out on August 2, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has funds to support your event.
The Small Sparks Fund provides funding for neighborhood-initiated projects that promote community engagement and relationship building. Groups can request up to $1,000 to help fund Night Out activities such as outreach materials, cultural entertainment, music, food, and kids’ activities, to name a few. The deadline for applications is Friday, July 1 and you must register first with the Department of Neighborhoods.
More information about the Small Sparks Fund is available online. It is open to applicants year-round for such activities as block parties, neighborhood sports tournaments, community picnics, and emergency preparedness training, to name a few.
Night Out is a national crime prevention event designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite communities.
As we start opening our windows to take in the warm weather, it’s time to think about preventing burglaries by securing windows when not home. Here are some tips from the Seattle Police Department:
Windows are a primary point of entry used by burglars. Without question, window security is a must. In terms of security, windows pose the greatest problem. Windows are left unlocked and open more often than doors. An open window, visible from the street or alley, may be the sole reason for your home to be selected by a burglar. The best window security advice is this: anytime you are away from home, close and lock your windows.
• Ground floor windows are more susceptible to break-ins and should be given priority for security improvements.
• Upper floor windows become attractive if they can be accessed from a stairway, tree, fence, ladder, or by climbing on balconies.
• Windows have latches, not locks, and therefore should have secondary blocking devices to prevent sliding them open from the outside.
• Windows that are painted shut do not keep burglars out. Burglars often pry these open.
• Keep expensive equipment and items away from your windows.
• Use curtains or blinds over any windows or doors that are easy to see into.
For a detailed flyer from SPD about window security, please leave a message on our Contact Us page.
Seattle Police Department crime trend data show a significant increase in the number of burglaries that take place in secure parking garages in apartments and condominiums.
According to SPD, in the majority of these crimes, burglars did not need to force their way into the garage but piggybacked in through the pedestrian door or followed a car into the garage. In addition to prowling cars, bicycles and storage unites are also targeted.
Here are some tips for preventing these types of crimes.
On December 6, a man brandished two handguns at several downtown businesses, carjacked three vehicles, and fired on police officers before a fatal confrontation on 35th Avenue NE and NE 68th Street in the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood.
Learn more about what happened, about police follow-up, and what to do if an active shooting takes place in a public setting.
Community Meeting & Debriefing
Monday, December 21, 2015
6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
NE Branch Seattle Public Library
6801 35th Avenue NE
Guest Speakers
Co-sponsored by the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association and the Wedgwood Community Council.
This week, Seattle Police Department launched its Crime Data Dashboard, giving Seattle residents access to the same statistical information on incidents of property and violent crime used by SPD to direct police patrols.
Dashboard users can view and sort historic and current data on personal and property crimes, including robbery, burglary, theft, and auto theft, across the city, in precincts, and in each Micro Community. All of the data released through the dashboard is open-source and downloadable for further analysis.
For example, below are 2015 year-to-date crime statistics for the Roosevelt/Ravenna area.
The City of Seattle has given us 3 ways to shut our streets down to cars for play and parties–Play Streets, National Night Out, and Block Parties.
PLAY STREETS
The Seattle Department of Transportation has a pilot program called Play Streets that will close your street down for play on a reoccurring basis. In 2014, there was a block (shown to the left in the blue) that had a play street for every home Huskies football game. There is a nice Play Streets Handout you can pass around so we can get more dots on this map.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Earlier this week we reported on National Night Out funds being available. National Night Out is sponsored by the Seattle Police Department as way to create community, and therefore deter crime. National Night Out is always the first Tuesday of August and you can apply by going to SPD’s website.
BLOCK PARTIES
As we reported last summer, if you decide that the first Tuesday in August for National Night Out isn’t a good time for your block to have a party, you can close your street down any time you wish as long as you follow the simple rules below:
We had a great turnout on Tuesday evening at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center’s gymnasium, as more than 50 people gathered to talk about community, safety and more in Ravenna Bryant. Below is a summary of the meeting’s highlights for those who could not attend.
Assistant Police Chief Wilske spoke with the audience about his tenure in the department (more than 30 years,) SPD’s new emphasis on micro community policing, and touched on the work underway related to the use of excessive force findings by federal investigators. Wilske then addressed community concerns about whether SPD staffing is sufficient, saying that a third-party consultant is currently evaluating the department’s needs and will have an assessment and recommendations in the near future. He spoke highly of Mr. Greg Russell – Amazon transplant – who is using technology to create efficiencies, greater transparency and improved communications between the police and the public. By way of example, Wilske pointed to forthcoming improvements to the SeaStat website, which will soon offer hyper-local crime statistics to users in real-time.
Wilske moved on to audience questions/comments, captured below:
Captain Sean O’Donnell, just three weeks into this new position as North Precinct Commander, gave brief welcoming remarks to the crowd.
Next, Lieutenant George Bray from SPD’s 911 call center led an in-depth discussion about the whens, whys, and hows of calling 911. Lt. Bray’s rule of thumb? Call 911 for any reason YOU believe deserves expedited police service. For all the specifics on how 911 calls are prioritized and handled, check out Board Chair Inga Manskopf’s recent post dedicated to this very topic.
The Seattle Police Department also has a twitter feed for each police ‘beat’ that you can follow to see what crimes have been reported. Follow our beat at @SeattlePD Union3. Please note that the Twitter feeds aren’t manned by personnel, and in the case of an emergency, never report via Twitter; always dial 911.
The Annual Meeting is also a time when Board elections are held. Outgoing President Tony Provine read the names of all nominated members on the ballot. The new executive board and at-large members were voted in unanimously. Your 2015-2016 RBCA Board Members are:
Congratulations to the Board! And to ensure your voice is represented to the city and elsewhere by your RBCA, please attend our monthly meetings which occur the first Tuesday of each month, 7p.m. at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center. For more on our work plan, please see board member Chris Fiori’s fantastic draft work plan (WorkplanDraft_May 2015), and contact us with more ideas or to become involved!
The meeting adjourned shortly before 8:30p.m.
For more coverage of the annual meeting, check out Ravenna Blog’s post on the evening.
