[A summary, and a list of the good links to go follow, is included at the end of this post.]
Yes, there have been a lot of burglary-related posts on the Ravenna Blog lately. Enough that it prompted the following comment from a reader (via email):
A thought – how about a post comparing crime stats in Ravenna versus neighbouring areas? Me wife gets freaked out when she reads your posts on crimes so I’m looking for a little context.
A fair question. Is crime really up? Or is it just that crime reporting is up?
Certainly, crime reporting is up here at the Ravenna Blog. And, I’m here to tell you, this is in direct response to the increase in crime in the neighborhood over the past month.
I’m hoping to get some more specific historical data for our neighborhood, but here’s what North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Diane Horswill had to say about the statistics about Ravenna for October (via email; emphasis mine):
I have attached a recap of burglaries and car prowls and would say that the Ravenna burglaries in particular [compared to Roosevelt’s] are somewhat higher than is average for the neighborhood especially since many areas are experiencing lower than average rates right now.
In the recap she mentioned, there were 12 burglaries in Ravenna in October. (Of the four car prowls mentioned, two of them occurred on Roosevelt Way, which I would not consider to be in Ravenna.) What the count was in October 2009, I do not know at this time. But Diane says that it is up, and that works for me, for now.
Mike at Maple Leaf Life made a valiant effort at trying to decode the statistics for his neighborhood at the city’s My Neighborhood – Crime Statistics site. I read the post (“The problem(s) with trying to track crime in Maple Leaf“), tried my hand at looking up old crime statistics myself, and had even worse luck than he did. Read his post (we share a police beat with Maple Leaf, so the post is rather pertinent to our crime cause as well) and have a go a finding the data yourself.
Failing finding actual numbers, another Seattle news site, with an emphasis on crime reporting, has mentioned the increase in burglaries as well.
Just yesterday, Seattle Crime posted a story about the rise in property crime in our area (“North end neighborhoods hit hard by burglars“), mentioning specifically “Roosevelt, Ravenna, and Maple Leaf neighborhoods.” Also mentioned in this post are a few more details as to who might be responsible for these burglaries in the first place.
Now, to sum up for emailer Matt and his wife, and everyone else:
- Crime is definitely higher than normal in the neighborhood right now;
- Other people see the uptick, too, (Seattle Crime “North end…” post);
- It’s hard to find the hard data yourself (Maple Leaf Life “The problem(s)” post;
- And having crime prevention coordinators around to help with this stuff is really fantastic…but they’re probably going away (“Crime Prevention Coordinators face the budget axe“).
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I saw a suspicious young man in the area of 21st Ave NE and 77th Street on 11/4. He was checking out the front yards (for security company signs?), looking carefully at each house on the street. I called the police and left a description. I wonder if they cross check that sort of thing with the description of the man who asks about newspaper delivery.
Any news on whether they have any leads or do they just updated people on that stuff in TV crime shows? I’m not sure how it works.
The newspaper delivery guy stories have been checked out – there’s been a sales force in our area. Story here: https://ravennablog.com/2010/11/03/newspaper-sales-force-in-our-area-confirmed/This from a post from Seattle Crime today: “Police still don’t have any suspects, but have rolled out emphasis patrols to try to catch the kids, who, we’re told, are likely responsible for at least twenty burglaries in October—if not more.”
Also, thank you for calling in the suspicious behavior. Did you use the non-emergency contact number to do it?