North Precinct Advisory Council (NPAC) September Meeting Minutes
From time to time we will post the minutes of the North Precinct Advisory Council. Below are he minutes of the September meeting.
Expanding Communication between the Police and Community
MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES
September 4, 2013
Recorded by Nancy Rauhauser
The monthly NPAC Meeting began at 7:03 p.m., with Ruedi Risler presiding.
Topics covered:
1. Special Presentation Speaker: Dongho Chang, SDOT Traffic Engineer
a. Major SDOT projects: i. 520 bridge – paid for by tolling. The toll varies by time to give drivers incentive to avoid peak travel times, to smooth traffic congestion. ii. I5 replacement – it was built in the ‘60s with a 30 year life expectancy. Current pavement grinding is attempt to extend its life. Long term strategy is to reduce car usage by having housing near work, services to allow seniors to live in place without need to drive, etc.
b. 2007 Bicycle Master Plan was attempt to build as much bike infrastructure as possible quickly and with low cost using Bridging the Gap money. Project is half way along. See http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaster.htm
c. What’s in place is good for superusers, but most casual cyclists still aren’t comfortable, feel unsafe around fast cars, etc.
d. Current focus is on connecting neighborhoods for casual cyclists and pedestrians, such as the separated lane between Burke-Gilman Trail and Maguson Park, and working with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, a volunteer coalition that identifies, advocates for and activates safe, healthy streets.
e. Some elements being used to increase safety: i. Reducing speed limit to 20 mph; flashing crosswalks; speed humps ii. Cycle tracks – bike lanes physically separated from motor traffic and sidewalks. See http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/cycletracks.htm iii. Bike facilities (pavement painting, etc.) – see http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikefacilities.htm for how to use them 1. Green bike box – creates space between motor vehicles and bikes at an intersection to help avoid collisions. 2. Buffered bike lane – striped cross-hatched area between bicyclists and motor vehicles. 3. Sharrow – bicycle symbols placed to guide bicyclists to the best place to ride on the road, avoid car doors and remind drivers to share the road with cyclists. 4. Bike dot, green bike lane, loop detector, two stage left turn box. iv. Cyclists have to follow the rules of the road, but can also go on the sidewalk. On sidewalk, they must yield to pedestrians. Wherever they are, cyclists must be responsible, alert, and be ready to try to avoid a collision if someone doesn’t see or hear them. See rules of the road here: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikecode.htm v. Educating citizens about bike infrastructure: 1. SDOT is working with schools to teach cyclists and future vehicle drivers how to use the bike lanes and share the road with cyclists. 2. The biking community needs to self-patrol good behavior, rules of the road, and educate others. 3. Driver education 4. Signage is being installed where practical. 5. Developing a bike program web site: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikeprogram.htm
2. Precinct Update: Capt. David Emerick/Lt. Lesley Cordner a. Though there has been a reduction in car prowls and non-residential burglaries, residential burglaries are up 50% this year, and car thefts are up 17%. Homicides year to date are down (3 vs 6). Officers will become more proactive on car theft, and an overall goal is to reduce car theft and home burglaries. b. Got overtime funding to add another emphasis (day) shift to Lake City. c. Start of school year typically brings a spike in crime. Robberies of kids getting off busses; burglaries of residences where kids are no longer home; robberies around UW housing; kids skipping class to burgle. d. In the last 90 days, distribution of crime over 24 hours was as follows: i. 31% between 3 am and noon ii. 43% between noon and 8 pm iii. 25% between 8 pm and 3 am
e. Six people were arrested recently, each of them responsible for about 125 auto thefts apiece, and three of them responsible for respectively 117, 80 and 100+ burglaries. f. Predictive policing software is still being evaluated. It helps analyze past crime to predict future crime. It seems good for new officers who are still unfamiliar with their beats. g. New precinct building i. Several sites have been identified and there is a preferred location. City Council must approve and Mayor must sign off. ii. After property is selected there will be a public open house to learn about it, and there will be a series of meetings in the design phase so public can make suggestions – such as for a big community room for meetings. iii. Lt. Cordner is liaison with the City on this project; she will bring us more info as it develops.
3. Crime Prevention Report: Terrie Johnston
a. Terrie’s analysis shows majority of burglaries in NP take place between 9 am – 3 pm. b. In the period July 1 – Sept 2, burglaries were up from last year. Biggest increase was in Lincoln sector (east side of NP), next biggest Ballard. U District had a decrease. c. Terrie thanked all for our participation in National Night Out. NP had almost 900 registered block parties and unknown number of unregistered ones. This exceeds all the other precincts combined! d. Summer weather = windows and doors open. Almost 50% of the burglaries this summer were through unsecured windows and doors. Some screens taken out or slashed. e. Trend is for lots of jewelry being taken, sometimes even leaving electronics behind. f. Remember to call 911 if you see something suspicious. SPD depends on citizen eyes and ears. g. Other tips: burglars go through dog doors, find keys not-so-hidden; do not ignore doorbell as burglar may think you’re not home and break in.
4. City Attorney’s Office: Brendan Brophy a. Shut down an un-permitted rave at Golden Gardens, great teamwork with Community Police Team. b. Worked with problem property near an elementary school that had garbage, overgrown yard, numerous 911 calls, etc. It has been inspected and appears to be cleaning up. Department of Planning & Development (DPD) takes complaints about housing, land use, construction and other codes. See http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/.
5. King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – Deputy Prosecutor Jacob Brown a. US Attorney General Eric Holder recently reduced mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses. KC has been using methods to reduce drug incarcerations so this is a nice validation of its approach. b. One method is KC is using is LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) that allows drug offenders go into treatment instead of jail.
6. Department of Corrections: Jeff Sargent a. Found a guy on narcotics probation in Greenwood who had $500 worth of heroin and $20,000 in cash. He’s back in the pokey.
7. Community Police Team: Dianne Newsom a. Handout of the month is Stay Connected With SPD, showing tools and information available online. See attached. b. It’s time to start collecting socks for the holiday sock drive. Last year we collected about 4000 pairs. 2000 goes to UW Foot Clinic for homeless and low- income clients. The rest go to transitional housing and CPT keeps a few to give out to individuals.
c. Dianne introduced CPT officer Tim Wear, with SPD since 1985.
8. Liquor Control Board: Judy Lewis a. Revised rules for marijuana were published this week. Highlights of the rules are here: http://www.liq.wa.gov/publications/Marijuana/I-502/I-502-Draft-Rule– Summary-VI-9-4-13.pdf b. In Judy’s area – Fremont, Wallingford, University, Greenwood – DUIs from drinking establishments are down compared to seven years ago when she started, and the breath analyzer test scores are low, indicating that establishments aren’t generally over-serving.
9. Committee Reports a. Issues: Doug Thiel – no news b. Membership: Dick Hillmann – please give Dick any roster changes.
10. Old Business a. We will change the bylaws to have nominations in May and elections in June so there is no gap between nominations and elections. b. Ruedi and Nancy will send cards to outgoing Captain Clark and Ops Lt. Rasmussen wishing them well in their new positions and thanking them for their service.
11. New Business a. At the beginning of the meeting Ruedi introduced our new North Precinct Captain, David Emerick. He grew up in the North Precinct and has been with SPD in many capacities for 29 years. b. Ruedi introduced our new Operations Lieutenant, Lesley Cordner (who was the interim NP Captain over the summer). She’s been with SPD for 24 years and lives in the NP. c. Elections were held for officers, who were nominated in June. Actually, all the current officers were re-elected unopposed. Ruedi Risler president, Pete Hanning VP, Nancy Rauhauser secretary. We do not need or have a treasurer. Katherine Dwyer was accepted as an at-large board member. d. MJ Davidson volunteered to take minutes in October, and Mike Cuadra volunteered to take them in November in Nancy’s absence. Ruedi will also be gone those two months; Pete Hanning, VP, will lead the meetings.
12. Next Month’s agenda a. Special Speaker is Renee Hopkins, President of the Seattle Police Foundation.
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
