Over 20 captains of West Seattle blockwatches gathered at the Seattle Police Department Southwest precinct to discuss outreach efforts to revitalize and create new watches and welcome new precinct commander Cpt. Steve Paulsen back to the area.

Blockwatch Meeting Minutes for 9/28/10

“I think it’s wonderful that you are doing this. This is how you get the bad guys and take care of each other,” Cpt. Paulsen said to the watch captains in attendance, their experience as captain ranging from 19 years to just a month.

“You as citizens know your neighborhood better than anyone else, even better than the police,” he added.

Discussed first was the outreach that captains have done over the summer to encourage new block watches to organize and encourage people who live in neighborhoods where they already exist to get involved.

Karen Berge, co-chair of the captains’ network, talked about how their presence at nearly every West Seattle festival over the summer expanded their Facebook membership to 164.

“We have a huge amount of work left,” Berge said of the outreach efforts.

A major concern raised at the meeting is how to more quickly get the word out when crime such as car prowls or burglaries occur on a particular block. People can keep an eye on updates through the media and are updated through fliers notifying residents of activity, but there is usually a lag between when the activity happens and when these actions are taken.

“The whole thing can get out of control before people find out about it,” Berge said.

Also in attendance was Benjamin Kinlow, crime prevention coordinator for the SPD. Kinlow spoke on his work in organizing a business watch, where businesses in the Southwest precinct will be organized over the next couple of months to communicate with each other to help reduce crime.

Kinlow also invited anyone in the community to contact him for information on how to join or set up a blockwatch (his contact information is below).

“I’ll provide whatever resources you need to keep this thing going,” Cpt. Paulsen said. He also updated everyone on the precinct’s progress in developing a map of West Seattle showing where blockwatches are in place and where they are needed to help in the outreach effort.

“One of the reasons we are trying to revitalize (blockwatches in West Seattle) is that they are not as robust as they used to be, but now it’s easier with technology” co-chair of the captains’ network Deborah Greer said. “It’s so much faster with technology and not nearly the amount of work (to get crime or emergency information out to neighborhood members).”

“I encourage people to think about (getting involved) again. It is a vital piece of community for crime prevention, community building and emergency preparedness,” Greer said.

For more information on the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network email wsblockwatchnet@gmail.com, call 206-321-7928 or visit their website at http://wsblockwatchnet.wordpress.com.

SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow can be reached at 206-684-7724 or benjamin.kinlow@seattle.gov.