A couple weeks back, we posted a query from a reader who spotted the sign you see to your right on a telephone pole around 55th and Wallingford. The question: why was someone writing down license plates in our neighborhood.
We know that many readers don’t go back and read comments on older posts, but this issue seemed important enough to bubble up as a follow-up post, so we’re reprinting some of the comments that were posted.
Sara wrote:
Those of us who live on Wallingford Ave. in the 52-53-54th St area have been having problems with drug dealing for several months now. Usually in the afternoons, an unfamiliar-to-the-neighborhood car will pull up -usually with tinted glass and park. Then another car arrives, a guy gets out, goes to the other car for a couple of minutes, goes back to his car and then drives off. We started to photograph and write down plates and submit them to the police. The cops said there is nothing they can do unless they catch someone in the act. They encouraged us to put up signs and continue to monitor activity. We held a neighborhood meeting and decided to post the signs as a deterrent. There are no surveillance cameras or vigilante photographers but there is heightened awareness in the neighborhood and we think the signs are working. Hopefully the activity hasn’t just moved to another part of Wallingford!
A long discussion on civil liberties and personal responsibility followed, which you’re welcome to read and join. Peter then added:
Apologies in advance for the length of the note. I’m one of the sign-posting residents, and wanted to add a few words to what Sara had written. Our neighborhood group has been in complete agreement that the problem of drug dealers and buyers meeting to conduct their transactions is real and provokes anxiety and concern. The thing is, we can’t all agree on the ideal solution, or even on the actions to take. Everything is a compromise. Nevertheless, we all feel better having built good community spirit and take comfort in the knowledge that we are looking out for each other even more than before.
After witnessing a rash of transactions a couple of months ago, I wrote and spoke with the Seattle Police officer responsible for our area and gave him details as a matter of record. He looked up the plates of the cars I had noticed, and NONE were from the neighborhood (they’re mostly from Seattle’s south end, and one from Bellevue). Officer Testerman insisted that the great majority of these deals are all about exchanging small amounts of money and drugs, and are not terribly threatening. These are typically low level couriers and end users; not high profile dealers. Well, they still aren’t welcome here, and some of us don’t like the potential for casing the neighborhood in preparation for car prowls or home burglaries.
Many of us are very conscious (as are folks on this list) of privacy issues, and the signs are intended to deter “unwelcome parking”, i.e., the drive-by drug trade. We do take down plate numbers of cars that clearly participate in these 2-car meet-ups, but we don’t wish to do so or to hassle any neighborhood residents, unless there is a SIGNIFICANT and prolonged level of probable cause. That’s been very rare in the 20 years I’ve lived here. We do not want to turn our neighborhood into an Orwellian nightmare just because strangers are using our nice neighborhood to conduct a few drug deals.
It is clear that the police can’t and won’t do anything more than take our reports and look up a few plates unless the problem becomes much more severe, so we have recognized that any action taken to solve this problem must come from us. I’ve been impressed with the overall level of pragmatism, and the balance between sky-is-falling whining (and irrational paranoia) on one extreme and reactionary vigilante militancy (and irrational paranoia) on the other. People are by and large very reasonable, and over the objections of only a few are willing to try something basically benign like the signs. Some of us have been willing to go out and chat up the intruders, and ask them if they need help “finding something”, for example. Unfortunately, it appears that so far, we have never seen the same car twice among the dozen or so recorded incidents, and I’m starting to think that the number of transactions city wide must be pretty big.
We’ve created a Google mail group for communicating neighborhood emergencies and reports of crime. So far, it has worked to inform the neighbors (over a ~4 block area) of several incidents, including one registered sexual predator sitting in his white panel “handyman’s van” who was accosted by a neighbor who assumed he was another drug-related visitor; we have zero tolerance for that jerk, and the police have asked us to call 911 right away if we see him again (more details upon request). The incidents have not stopped since the signs went up, but they do seem to have tapered off a little. It’s an experiment, and of course, we all wish this problem did not exist.
I applaud the Wallyhood blog for doing your part to foster neighborly communication and civility. Until these drug transactions came into our blocks from somewhere else, we enjoyed each other’s company at Seattle Night Out block parties, gardening, and walking the dog… the increased contact has been a good thing for our community, and we hope that mild pressure will move the drug problem elsewhere. We have no illusion that our actions will do anything to solve the underlying problem of illegal drug trade. We don’t know what drugs are involved… probably the usual suspects ranging from pot to heroine. The larger conversation about drugs and American culture needs to be more vigorous, and the political initiative to solve drug-related problems still needs to be fostered. In the meantime, we are trying to make it uncomfortable for users and dealers to conduct their business here.
I wish we had better visibility and clarity as to why exactly the SPD chooses not to work on quality of life issues. The only time I see them in Wallyhood its parked at Dick’s, sitting on their hood, stuffing themselves. I keep thinking, “oh man, I can’t REALLY be seeing them doing that, its such a stereotype..” but that’s really the only time I see them.
3, maybe 4 weeks ago, my dog started barking close to 2:30am. I’d just gone to sleep, and if you’ve met my dog, you’d understand – he’s NOT a barker. I went to see what was causing such angry growls and snarls, and someone was lying in the street, by the roundabout, slowly crawling up Corliss towards 45th.. and oh my goodness, blood! 🙁 I called 911, and by the time I got connected with EMT services, the individual had crawled out of sight up the street. Upon hearing I’d lost sight of the person, I was told that it was a police matter now – *click!* 911 operater was quiet for a moment, thanked me, and told me that SPD would be called. I went outside to see if I could spot the person, but they were out of sight. I didn’t know what to do – wandering around in the dark after a bloody person didn’t seem like a good idea, especially since the cops were on the way… right? I sat on my porch for 20 minutes, waiting to see if in fact the police would show… as the minutes dragged on, I felt more and more guilty for not rushing out to help. After 20 minutes of waiting, I got dressed, grabbed the big flashlight and the dog, and we tried to find the person, but they had disappeared. I hope they’re ok 🙁
SPD never did show up.
Ok, only slightly related to the original post, but this has been bugging me. A while back a very inebriated man stumbled into my workplace (not the first time this had happened with the same individual). I had seen him drive to the my office in his car, and knew full well he would be getting back in the same car and heading back out on the streets of Seattle.
While my coworker “entertained” him, I went into the other room to let the police know about the impending deadly weapon headed for the streets, and his past history which all but gauranteed I wasn’t being overly cautious. I was told that they couldn’t do anything until he was actually headed for his car, and told to call back at that time. No surprise, by the time I reached the police he was in his car and on his merry way down the street. I have no idea if he killed anybody after he left me.
Apparently, one needs to actually view the bullet leaving the barrel of the gun before calling the police. Its ok to point the gun, but until you actually pull the trigger, no crime has been committed. Am I the only one confused about this?
ptmald — did anyone tell him he should not be driving–that he was too drunk to drive? Sometimes that works. To your point — and to Kerrizor’s — I think we would need many, many more officers on the street to pre-empt crimes that have yet to occur. Police eat, too. If the only time you see them is when they are at Dick’s, it is probably because we really do not have much crime in our neighborhood, compared to other metropolitan areas. How frequently would you like to see police actions other than eating in our hood? I’m sure it isn’t what you intended, but casting aspersions on the men and women who do the dirtiest of our society’s dirty work is not going to lead to whatever outcome you are hoping for.
Pssstt. Can you link to the earlier story on Big Brother? I looked for it, but I couldn’t find it.
And let me say what you are most clearly thinking: “Shame on you, HorseKnuckle, for not hanging on Wallyhood’s every word, for not having already read the story, and for not having deposited your unsolicited opinions on this important issue like so many of your horse apples.” Guilty.
But with a defense: I’ve had tuberculosis. Or SARS. Or swine flu. Or whatever is the new “it” disease that is circulating all over and around the Wallyhood.
So, while I catch up on all of the stuff I’ve missed, would you be a dear and give us a link? xoxoxo
Adding this link to the post, especially for HorseKnuckle, who has the DT’s:
http://www.wallyhood.org/2009/10/big-brother-wallingford/
You’re right. Wait. Are you talking about the Wallyhood DTs or something else, because I am out of NyQuil. And Percoset.
But the silver lining is that I can apparently buy more right outside my front door!
Thanks for the link!
P.S. Love the piece on Cafe Passionfruit (or however you spell it) (oh, and I’m glad they are in the ‘hood because I think they make the best mocha ever) not to mention the article on the wheel-less Honda in “Wallingford” (sorry MyGreenLake). I woke up one morning about 2 years ago to find our car looking just like that, only more German. And that was only 2 months after I woke up one morning to find the previous car had vanished during the night. So, you can understand why I am keenly interested in what is happening in the South Green Lake/North Wallingford/Decidedly Tangletown neighborhood.
Peter, thank you for trying to do something about the problems in our neighborhood. It seems like some people just shrug it off as if to say “dope dealing and other crimes in the neighborhood, who cares, we can’t stop it. And if you get stolen from, you were probably being careless.” So thanks for being pro-active; we need more folks like you around.
Now if only the cops would stop shrugging it off as well….
Approaching strange cars parked on your street is not wise – unless you have the training and experience. They are either occupied by the good guys or the bad guys. The good guys (undercover police) are there for a reason and approaching them comprimises their position. You have nothing to worry about if they are the good guys. If they are the bad guys, then you are putting yourself in a potentially unsafe situation. Most of the time they will do nothing and just leave the area. But if you walk into a gang initiation situation or make yourself a witness to another crime, then you may find yourself a victim of a violent crime. If most of these vehicles are from south Seattle (where many of Seattle’s gangs are located) as stated in the above comments, then you are placing yourself in a precarious position. Better to record license plates, video the cars and people, and place neighborhood watch posters. An organized community with evidence will go further than you think.
This summer we were having major problems with drug dealers at the part of Corliss north of 46th that dead-ends into the Good Shepherd Center grounds and Meridian Park. The same tan old 70s car (think stereotypical “pimp” car) would park right at the dead end with a bunch of white guys in it. The driver was a huge (tall) and somewhat hefty balding guy who usually wore a tank top. He often carried a metal pipe.
They would sit there for hours. Every so often, one of them would go into the park for a few minutes and come out again. Or folks would come out of the car, talk to the folks in the car and then go back into the park. This was happening every late afternoon/evening for awhile. We have 5 children who live and play on the block–almost every day during the summer.
The neighbors called the police repeatedly. The police did show up many of the times and actually recorded the license plate of the car. Finally, one evening, we called and the police came. One of the officers came over to speak with us and then walked over to the car and told the men inside:”we have nothing on you, but we have recorded your car, your license and your appearance. The neighbors are aware of you. It might be a good idea to stop coming here if you’re doing something illegal.” After that, the car didn’t come and park again, although we did see it driving down 46th several times.
Unfortunately, the car clearly moved on to somewhere else. I think they still do business in the park, but they don’t park on Corliss anymore. I’ve spoken with the folks who live on Bagley, and this car doesn’t seem to be parking on their street either. So, I wonder if they’ve gone to the location in your post?