23rd & Union "cop stop" - a new approach to ending violence?
As violent crime continues in the Central District, the Seattle Times this morning wrote on an interesting new method of stopping criminal activity around 23rd & Union: giving the Seattle Police Department a micro-office near the intersection to take care of business while keeping an eye on the community.
But the media's cynicism appears to be absent around 23rd & Union, a community fed up with criminality who are doing all they can to encourage a greater police presence. The end result will benefit all parties: the Central District will likely see 23rd & Union return to a pleasant intersection, the criminals who threaten our community will be apprehended or drop under the radar to keep a low profile, and the SPD will develop closer ties with individuals and businesses in the community. A win/win/win situation.
The question now is: where will this push the drug dealers, loiterers and thugs? As we noted on Wednesday, these people only congregate at 23rd & Union because after the Chocolate City Club's closure they were no longer welcome traversing their old haunts near 21st & Madison. Our suspicion is that this activity will not go away...instead, as gentrification continues, it will move further and further into the C.D. and the South End. The "cop stop" is a temporary solution, and a great one at that. But it would be naive to expect that it will end violent crime completely.
It would be a place where Seattle police officers assigned to the Central Area could write reports, use restrooms and take breaks instead of trekking back to the East Precinct on Capitol Hill. [...] The building's owner may be willing to provide the space rent free for the next six to nine months, though the department will have to cover utilities, Greeley said. The department just needs to sign a lease, but must wait for the owner to return from vacation, he said.Finally! People thinking with their brains instead of their hearts. This sounds like a good solution to us at SCB, and a long-overdue one at that. While folks in the rest of the city seems to be targeting police officers for their supposedly over-aggressive tactics, we're now witnessing the complete opposite in the Central District. A strange turn of events, especially because many of the criticisms against police officers reported in alternative weeklies like The Stranger report on unfair treatment of African Americans (who at this point still make up a good portion of the C.D., and who we'd suspect are largely instrumental in bringing this new "cop stop" to fruition).
But the media's cynicism appears to be absent around 23rd & Union, a community fed up with criminality who are doing all they can to encourage a greater police presence. The end result will benefit all parties: the Central District will likely see 23rd & Union return to a pleasant intersection, the criminals who threaten our community will be apprehended or drop under the radar to keep a low profile, and the SPD will develop closer ties with individuals and businesses in the community. A win/win/win situation.
The question now is: where will this push the drug dealers, loiterers and thugs? As we noted on Wednesday, these people only congregate at 23rd & Union because after the Chocolate City Club's closure they were no longer welcome traversing their old haunts near 21st & Madison. Our suspicion is that this activity will not go away...instead, as gentrification continues, it will move further and further into the C.D. and the South End. The "cop stop" is a temporary solution, and a great one at that. But it would be naive to expect that it will end violent crime completely.
This sounds like a great idea. I have another, related question, though. I put this here and on the Central District site hoping to get some clarification.
Maybe someone can answer this for me... why is it that the East Precinct is the only one (at least according to the SPD website) NOT to have a Community Police Team? I'm new to this forum, so this may be a subject with some history here, but couldn't find anything so far.
I'm curious because its seems like if there's anyplace in Seattle with a genuine need for a positive relationship with police officers, the CD and Capitol Hill/ Madison area is surely that place. Does anyone know if there have been CPT officers in the past, and if so, what happened to them?
Last month I visited the vigil for Allen Joplin that was held in Flo Ware Park. During the brief time i was there four police cars drove by or parked across the street. The young people I spoke with talked about feeling harassed, wanting to grieve in peace. When I asked them if they knew any officers by name, or had a relationship with anyone at the police department, they said they didn't.
I know there are different sides to this complicated situation, and generations of history to it as well. Those factors make a Community Team all the more relevant for CD residents, business people, schools AND the police. There may be some very valid reason for the East Precinct NOT having a CPT, but I couldn't find it. Here's the description of Community Police Teams from the SPD website:
"WHAT DO CPT OFFICERS DO?
While patrol officers assigned to a certain beat and sector are usually very familiar with the area they patrol, CPT Officers go one step further. CPT officers do not respond to 911 calls for service and are instead assigned a specific area to focus on long-term, often chronic problems. They patrol many times a day, checking and re-checking known "hot spots".
It is their job to know the residents in troubled apartments, to recognize by sight, the "regulars" who congregate on the corner, and to understand the ongoing problems and concerns of neighbors and businesses. Residents and business owners get to know and trust the officers, making it easier to work together to resolve and prevent problems. CPT is about understanding ongoing issues that go back weeks and months and taking steps to prevent problems before they arise. The officers are a unique and invaluable resource in the communities they serve."
If there's more information about this please let me/ us know. My concern is as a long time resident of the CD, parent of a Garfield alum and current student at Seattle Girls School. More importantly, though, I'm wondering as a friend/ concerned adult of young people involved with Deuce8. These kids need and deserve more than they're getting, my opinion anyway. Could a CPT be one element of that?
Lori Holloway