By Gwen Davis

A living room conversation took place Thurs. evening at The Kenney. Attendees — which included Kenney residents and neighbors — brought up various issues. The event’s objective was to address neighbors’ questions and concerns regarding the police department.

Officer Kevin McDaniel, from the southwest precinct opened the meeting.

“I love West Seattle and have worked here for the past 20 years,” McDaniel said. “If I had it my way I’d retire from Southwest Precinct here in West Seattle.”

McDaniel was one of the three department officials facilitating the meeting.

“Tonight we call this a ‘living room chat’ to bridge the gap between the community and the Seattle Police Department,” he said.

Officer Jon Flores was also present, and answered questions from attendees.

“We’re just here to engage with you all tonight,” he said.

Mark Solomon with the South Precinct, the third facilitator, introduced himself about how much officers love the West Seattle precinct. “They wave at you with all five fingers there,” he said.

First question: one attendee asked what is a block watch.

“A block watch comes down to a commitment to watch out for each other and improve your own security,” Solomon said. Having better communication between neighbors and police is key. “If you see people on a neighbor’s property, you are aware. Also, if your neighbor walks by, you wave to them. It’s looking out for each other,” Solomon said.

“If you see something that doesn’t look right, you say something,” he said.

What’s involved in setting up a block watch group, one attendee asked?

“Check with a few neighbors about a good date and time to have a meeting, I’d show up, we’d address crime concerns, and have a contact list,” Sololmon said. “We usually find that we do a lot of evening meetings because a lot of folks are working during the day. Plan for about an hour or hour and a half.”

Many people who have gone through the experience thought it was very worthwhile, he said. However, the police department doesn’t have the capacity to serve everyone who requests a block watch.

The topic of car prowling was brought up, which is one of the biggest issues officers have seen in West Seattle.

“How often do police cars get broken into?” one attendee asked. The answer was not often, but Flores said, but he always makes sure to lock his car.

“It happens to everybody,” Solomon said. The department does have handouts on car prowling prevention tips.

Flores said that that the department is considering rolling out more bike officers, which focus on a given area. Having mobile precincts will additionally have better capacity to crack down on areas where there’s more suspicious activity.

“This summer you’ll see a big Seattle police van, which will be a good way for the community to see the that police are around, and they’ll be able to better patrol the area,” he said.

Another attendee asked: “How often to you see people dressed as construction workers?”

“Certainly that happens,” Flores said. “I wouldn’t say in West Seattle we’ve seen a lot of that. But if you see something that doesn’t sit well with you, or something tells you that’s not right, that’s not normal, call 911."

Next question involved wanting to put up street signage on private property.

“Before you do anything, check with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT),” Flores said.

That attendee brought up how a salesperson wanted to come into her house.

“Salespeople can be aggressive,” McDaniel said. “I don’t let people into my home.”

Solomon also said that in the City of Seattle salespeople need to be licensed, need picture ID and need to be registered.

McDaniel further discussed that people need to be aware of scams and giving out information and money. This is a particularly pertinent topic with the elderly who are more susceptible to scam violence. One resident of The Kenney confirmed how easy it is to get confused by getting a phone call from someone who she thinks is a frantic grandkid needing money, but is not.

Around 50 people attended the event.