Various and sundry updates, and other news Ravenna can use

November 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

SEO be darned. Sometimes, you just gotta cram a lot of different stuff in one post.

Crime update:

Meeting updates:

Miscellaneous tidbits:

On November 20th, Eckstein will launch Saturday School, a new intervention program for students who have four or more missing assignments and a grade of D or E in a class. Teachers will refer students to Saturday School and counselors will call the student’s home to let families know that the student is expected to attend from 8:30 – 11:30 am.  Students who successfully turn in all missing work by Thursday afternoon after being referred to Saturday School will be excused from attending. The purpose of this intervention is to encourage students to take responsibility for their work and to give them additional time and support if they are stuggling to complete it.

There’s also a request for volunteer tutors during those same dates and times (November 20, and December 4 and 18). To volunteer or ask questions about Saturday School, contact Eckstein Volunteer Coordinator LauraLeigh Young at llyoung@seattleschools.org.

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Arrests made, yet local burglaries continue (plus Crime Prevention meeting info)

November 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Just two days ago, I relayed the good news that six burglars were caught in two separate acts of burglary in an area of Maple Leaf (“Three burglars caught breaking into North Seattle home this afternoon“). Great news. Perhaps the recent rash of burglaries would finally come to an end.

It seems as though any celebrating may have been premature.

A home at approximately 25th Ave NE and NE 60th St was broken into just yesterday, Thursday, November 11. A resident reported being gone from the house for only an hour and a half that morning, returning to find the back door broken into and items missing.

After the burglary was called in, police made their way through the area, alerting neighbors to the burglary and to the Crime Prevention meeting being held next Tuesday.

UPDATE (6:37 pm): Seattle Crime has a post up with more information about the arrests made in Maple Leaf on Wednesday.

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Roosiehood and I are in close contact with Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center’s Coordinator, Trevor Gregg.  We have let him know that our Crime Prevention meeting on Tuesday has the potential to get far more people wanting to attend than we originally anticipated.

We will update you tomorrow on the status of the meeting space and how many more people we will be able to accommodate. We certainly don’t want to turn anyone away, if possible.

The meeting is currently showing as “SOLD OUT” on our RSVP system, but I urge you to get on the waitlist so we can see how many more people are interested in attending.

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Is crime really up? YES, but numbers are hard to come by.

November 6, 2010 by 2 Comments

[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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Was this helpful?  Have more questions? Email me, or leave a comment below.

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Burglary streak continuing in November

November 5, 2010 by 5 Comments

Just received an updated residential burglary list for Ravenna from Crime Prevention Coordinator Diane Horswill at the North Precinct of the Seattle Police Department.

I wish I could report some improvement.

This first one was reported to the Ravenna Blog on the day it happened (Burglaries take a holiday, then get right back to work):

11/01  7300blk 20th NE  the victim says that the suspect(s) there a brick through the glass in his back door and rifled his wife’s jewelry box and smashed a child’s piggy bank and stole the contents (about $30)

These next three (THREE?!) are new:

11/03  6800blk Ravenna Ave NE  the victim was away all day, when he returned he found that the air conditioner was removed from a back window allowing the suspect(s) to enter, an X-Box, games, a laptop and jewelry were stolen

11/04  8000blk 19th NE  the victim was gone for a few hours during the day, when she returned she found her kitchen door kicked in, the only item taken was a digital camera

11/04  1700blk NE 75th the victim came home to find that the suspect(s) had used a brick to break out her kitchen door window and then reached inside to unlock the door, a jewelry box with some jewelry in it was stolen

Seems like a good time to plug our Crime Prevention meeting on Tuesday, November 16th again.  Go back to this post to RSVP: You’re Invited: Crime Prevention Meeting on November 16.

I wish I had better news, Ravenna, I really do.

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You’re Invited: Crime Prevention Meeting on November 16

November 4, 2010 by 9 Comments

In light of recent burglaries and car prowls in the Ravenna and Roosevelt Neighborhoods, Ravennablog.com and Roosiehood.com are co-hosting an evening with North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Diane Horswill.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 16th, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Avenue NE). Start time is 7:30 pm.

Come learn how you can start a block watch program on your own street, help prevent future crimes, and make our neighborhoods safer.

Anyone is welcome to attend, but seating is limited. Please RSVP so that we know how many people are coming.

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Burglaries take a holiday, then get right back to work

November 1, 2010 by 1 Comment

From Jenny, via email:

Our neighbor at 73rd and 20th got robbed today [November 1] too. Just came home to find a broken glass door and missing stuff. Cops are cruising the ‘hood.

Looks like November is starting where October left off, in terms of Ravenna burglaries.

From an email from Diane Horswill, our area’s Crime Prevention Coordinator for the North Precinct of the Seattle Police Department:

[I] 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.

Included in the email was a recap of residential burglaries and car prowls for  October: Our neighborhood finished up the month with 12 residential burglaries, all but one occurring on a weekday.

That’s twelve too many. And I can’t say I care much for how November’s starting out, either.

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Ravenna Blog and the Roosevelt Neighborhood Blog are working with Diane on setting up a Block Watch Program meeting some time in the next couple weeks. Our respective sites will let you know when a date and location have been found, at which point we might enlist our readers to help spread the word about the event.

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Police reports for two more property crimes, plus contact information (and an update)

October 29, 2010 by 4 Comments

UPDATE (11:15 am): Called Seattle Times circulation, where I was told that the district manager for our area can occasionally check up with subscribers on their delivery service. However, the woman I talked to had no information on recent activity in our area. I have left a message for our area’s district manager regarding these house calls.

This afternoon/evening, two more police reports for recent burglary activity became available online. I have summarized both below:

  • 1600 block of NE 73rd Street – Victim leaves home at 7:30 am, returns at 4:45 pm to a broken into back door (glass panel broken, deadbolt unlocked). Home has been rummaged through. Missing items reported at the time include a digital camera, laptop, and approximately $100 of coins from a coin separator.
  • 7000 block of 14th Avenue NE – Homeowner reports that her housekeeper noticed a window in the basement of the house had been pried away from the frame. A pry mark was found on another window as well. However, no entry was made.

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It has been mentioned by a few Ravenna Blog commenters that someone has been knocking on doors during the day, and when presented with an occupant, says something to the effect of, “Did you receive your paper in the usual spot today?”

I have just sent off an email to the Seattle Times circulation folks to see if this is a quality control tactic they use. I have a feeling that the answer is going to be, “No, we don’t do that,” but I want to be sure. Will update post when I hear back.

Let this just be a reminder for all of us: If you see something suspicious, CALL THE POLICE. We all know the emergency number (9-1-1), but there is also a non-emergency number you can call (206-625-5011).

The Seattle Police Department suggests you call the non-emergency number when (from their website; emphasis mine):

  • You want to report a nuisance, such as a noise or parking complaint.
  • To report a non-emergency crime – one that did not just occur, and the suspects are not in the immediate area.
  • You have questions about something suspicious occurring in your neighborhood, and you are not sure it is criminal activity.

    • The calltaker will determines how best to handle your call. In some cases, your information will be taken and you will get a call back from the telephone reporting unit, and your report may be taken over the phone.

Might I suggest we all keep that 206-625-5011 number handy, in case of non-emergency?

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More burglaries hit the neighborhood (updated)

October 28, 2010 by 3 Comments

UPDATE (9:27 am): Steve also adds:

The thieves have been stealing laptops, jewelry and rifling through medicine cabinets, and it seems like they are pretty quick. The breakins seem to happen in the morning shortly after residents leave for work.

UPDATE (8:09 am): Here is a map of the area that Steve was talking about in his comment:

Portion of a Seattle Crime map showing area SE of Froula Park (click to go to full map at seattlecrime.com)

The incident represented by the blue dot above occurred on the 6700 block of 15th Ave NE on Tuesday, October 26th, and is the only burglary for which there is a full police report available, at this time.

When the homeowner arrived at home in the afternoon, he found a rear window smashed.  Handguns were discovered stolen, removed from a gun case that was broken into using the homeowner’s own tools from his garage.  Several rifles and assault weapons in the homeowner’s collection remained in the house, however. Also discovered missing was some cash, jewelry, a camera and an iPod.

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Just received the following comment from Steve (in the “Bryant Elementary burglarized on Wednesday” post; excerpted here):

There have been a rash of recent burglaries around my neighborhood (73rd block of 16th Ave NE). There were 3 on the 26th, 2 yesterday, and 1 today. We just just had a block meeting to discuss steps for heightened vigilance & awareness. We’re also going to be meeting with a police rep.

There is no information on these burglaries yet available online (my site of choice) but I will update this post when/if the police reports become available.

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