Update for 4/21
Captain Steve Paulsen reports that around 7 a.m. on April 21 officers and detectives with the SPD Southwest Precinct arrested a subject for burglary in north West Seattle, one of the hotspots of increased burglaries over the past two weeks.

Captain Paulsen said officers were patrolling north West Seattle when they "observed a suspicious vehicle."

While it is uncertain at this time if the apprehended subject is responsible for the spike in burglaries in the area, Captain Paulsen said "evidence and information collected from the vehicle may resolve a number of incidents/crimes that has affected this area in the recent past."

"This is a great example of our men and women sharing information with each other in regard to crime trends and targeting neighborhood hot spots in order to reduce crime," he added.

Original Story
Southwest Precinct Captain Steve Paulsen said over the past two weeks two areas of West Seattle have seen “huge” spikes in residential burglaries and asked that the community keep an eye out for suspicious activity in their neighborhoods to help police bring the numbers back down.

Speaking at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting on April 19, Captain Paulsen said West Seattle traditionally sees about five burglaries a week, but the number has jumped to 20 over the past two weeks and they suspect one or two people are responsible for the uptick.

Captain Paulsen said the burglaries are primarily occurring in a few “hotspots” – one up north in the North Admiral and Genesee Hills neighborhoods and the other south along 35th Ave s.w. near Barton, Thistle and Trenton crossroads.

The burglaries happen primarily during the daytime, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the burglars use, “forced entry, usually coming in through the back door,” according to Captain Paulsen.

As for how citizens help, he asked that everyone keep a keen eye on activity in their neighborhoods – especially in the hotspots – and to call police at the slightest suspicion.

“Even if it turns out to be nothing, at least we are there to check and find out,” he said.

Lt. Pierre Davis said, “We are pretty much putting out as many resources as we can to see if we can catch these people … we’ve got a pretty good idea of who these individuals are.”

Once the burglars are caught, police hope to be able to link them to several incidents so prosecutors can hand out “exceptional” jail time, according to Lt. Davis.

On the positive, Captain Paulsen said car prowls and car thefts have been down in West Seattle, with the majority of car thefts occurring along Roxbury. He said the SPD is working with King County Sheriffs to curb the issue along West Seattle’s southern border.

For a complete list of burglaries in West Seattle, check in with the Herald’s Police Blotter column posted every Monday.

To keep up on crime news in West Seattle when it breaks, please subscribe to the Herald’s @WSHeraldCrime Twitter account.