Join us on Tuesday, October 23rd for our final meeting of the year!

We have two featured topics this month:

• Package theft prevention
• Resources available to us from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods

During the holiday season, package thieves up their game to a higher level. We will discuss some techniques and available services that you can utilize to thwart package thefts and seasonal crimes of opportunity. Bring your ideas to share!

In addition, Laura Jenkins, Community Engagement Coordinator will talk to us about the various resources available from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. These include Neighborhood Matching Fund grants and the Community Resource Hub!

As this last meeting of the year gets underway, we’ll begin with introductions; a few announcements; and an in-depth update from SW Precinct leadership, Captain Pierre Davis about recent crime and safety issues.

Here’s the detailed agenda.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018, 6:30-8 PM

At the SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot)

6:00-6:30              Arrive early for light snacks, socialize and network with each other while we set up the room.

6:30-7:00              Introductions, announcements. Updates from SW Precinct.

7:00-7:20             Package Theft prevention discussion – bring solutions and ideas!

7:20-8:00            Laura Jenkins, Community Engagement Coordinator from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

8:00-8:30              Feel free to stay after the meeting to continue your discussions.

Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t a Block Watch Captain! RSVP appreciated, but not necessary to attend.

We hope you can join us!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

Our monthly meetings resume on Tuesday, September 25th! Join us!

Our featured topic this month is Mental Health First Aid. We hope you can be there! 

Most of us are familiar with or have attended First Aid classes to learn CPR, how to respond to someone experiencing a heart attack or identify signs of a stroke. As well, many of us are aware of the newer First Aid courses offered locally such as Stop the Bleed, and Disaster Response First Aid.

But, did you know that there is also a worldwide movement to train the public in Mental Health First Aid?

Our guest speaker will be Sue Wyder, King County Mental Health First Aid Coordinator and Valley Cities Mental Health Program Manager. Please join us to learn more about Mental Health First Aid and King County’s new free 8-hour certified course on this topic.

How can learning Mental Health First Aid help you help someone? Why is it important? Statistics suggest that you are more likely to encounter someone in emotional or mental crisis than someone having a heart attack. It’s especially important to recognize the signs that someone close to you — family, friends, co-workers, neighbors — may be in crisis, and to learn and understand Mental Health First Aid techniques so you can help them and others who may be in need.

As this first fall meeting gets underway, we’ll also have introductions; a few announcements; and an in-depth update from SW Precinct leadership, Captain Pierre Davis on recent crime and safety issues.

Here’s the detailed agenda.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)
Tuesday, September 25th, 2018, 6:30-8 PM

At the SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot)

6:00-6:30              Arrive early for light snacks, socialize and network with each other while we set up the room.

6:30-7:10              Introductions, announcements. Updates from SW Precinct.

7:10-8:00              Mental Health First Aid Presentation by Sue Wyder.

8:00-8:30              Feel free to stay after the meeting to continue your discussions.

Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t a Block Watch Captain! RSVP appreciated, but not necessary to attend.

We hope you can join us!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

Follow-up from our June 26th meeting!

As our “Summer Hiatus” begins, we want to take a moment to thank those of you who joined us for last night’s meeting!

Our meeting guests included SW Precinct Commander Captain Pierre Davis (left), retiring Operations Lieutenant Ron Smith (center), and his replacement Lieutenant Steve Strand (right).

Crime  Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner and  Precinct Liaison Attorney Joe Everett were also in attendance.

West Seattle Blog’s coverage of the meeting includes video of Lt. Ron Smith’s parting remarks, as well as other meeting highlights.

We hope you have a wonderful summer!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

You won’t want to miss our June 26th meeting! Why?

As most of you know, we take a “Summer Hiatus” in July and August — so our meeting on Tuesday, June 26th is our last one prior to this year’s Night Out events. We hope you can make it! 

We’ll hear a comprehensive update about West Seattle “hot spots” and trends from Precinct Commander, Captain Pierre Davis…and about how SPD plans to address them.

Soon-to-retire Operations Lieutenant Ron Smith will be there. Come to say goodbye and wish him well!

Crime Prevention Coordinator, Jennifer Danner will also be there with LOTS AND LOTS of safety-related informational materials that you can pick up to give to your neighbors on Night Out!

We don’t have a presentation on a specific topic this month, so we’ll have ample time for questions and discussion. Bring your questions and Block Watch-related issues! Let’s talk about tangible steps that we can take to make our neighborhoods safer this summer.

Here’s the detailed agenda.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, 6:30-8 PM

At the SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot)

6:00-6:30              Arrive early for light snacks, socialize and network with each other while we set up the room. Pick up materials for your Night Out events!

6:30-7:15              Introductions, announcements. Updates from SW Precinct.

7:15-8:00              Open forum to discuss and share Block Watch-related issues.

8:00-8:30              Feel free to stay after the meeting to continue your discussions.

Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t a Block Watch Captain! RSVP appreciated, but not necessary to attend.

We hope you can join us!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

Oops! Here’s our very tardy meeting agenda!

What can I say? Mea culpa.

Our monthly meeting is TOMORROW, Tuesday, May 22^nd at 6:30 PM — we hope that you can join us…and that (most) 4th Tuesdays are penciled in on your calendar!

We’ll have an in-depth update from Captain Pierre Davis on issues and activity within the SW Precinct. Bring your questions for him.

As well, we’ll also have time for open discussion, as opposed to a presentation. This is our chance to discuss top-of-mind Block Watch-related issues, continue discussion on topics raised in earlier meetings, ask for advice on neighborhood-specific problems and share your advice and knowledge.

Here’s the detailed agenda.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018, 6:30-8 PM

At the SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot)

6:00-6:30              Arrive early for light snacks, socialize and network with each other while we set up the room!
6:30-7:15              Introductions, announcements. Update from SW Precinct.

7:15-8:00              Open forum to discuss and share Block Watch-related issues.

8:00-8:30              Feel free to stay after the meeting to continue your discussions.

Hope to see you there!  Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t a Block Watch Captain! RSVP appreciated, but not necessary to attend.

 

We hope you can join us!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

[Updated, June 24th] As the June meeting fast approaches, I realize that I neglected to follow up after this meeting to include this coverage from the West Seattle Blog.

Would you recognize signs of human trafficking?

If not, or if you’re concerned, please join us to learn more on Tuesday, April 24th, at our monthly meeting!

Yes, human trafficking does happen here. Though this topic has been in the news recently, many of the details and the scope of the problem might surprise you.

Our guest speaker will be Claudia Lawrence, Community Director of the organization Seattle Against Slavery. She will educate us on the extent of the human trafficking problem in the United States and in King County. You’ll learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking, especially the types of crimes happening in this area. By recognizing possible victims and reporting your tips, you can help law enforcement potentially save lives. She’ll also talk about local and national resources that you should know about.

Everyone has a role to play in combating human trafficking. Please come learn about what we as community members can do to help make things better!

As always, we’ll also have an update from SW Precinct Commander, Captain Pierre Davis.

Here’s the detailed agenda.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)

Tuesday, April 24th, 2018

We meet from 6:30-8 PM in the community meeting room at the SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot).

6:00-6:30             Arrive early for light snacks; socialize with each other while we set up!

6:30-7:00             Introductions, announcements. Update from SW Precinct.

7:00-8:00             Seattle Against Slavery, Community Director, Claudia Lawrence.

8:00-8:30             Feel free to stay after the meeting to continue your discussions.

Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t a Block Watch Captain!  RSVP is appreciated, but not necessary to attend.  You can contact us at wsblockwatchnet@gmail.com.

We hope you can join us!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

Follow-up from our March meeting

Thanks to all of you who joined us on Tuesday, March 27th, for our monthly meeting!

Special thanks to our guest speaker SW Precinct Liaison Attorney, Joe Everett, who gave an informative presentation about the criminal court system; to SW Precinct Commander, Captain Pierre Davis, who updated us on recent crime-related activity in our area; and to Operations Lt. Captain Ron Smith who shared his experiences and insights.

West Seattle Blog has posted coverage of the meeting here.

We’ll follow-up soon with We’ve now added the slides from Joe Everett here. These include some useful info such as the rights that victims and witnesses have.

March safety newsletter focuses on ways to report suspicious activity

We received this new community safety newsletter from Jennifer Danner at the SW Precinct today. She wrote:

Good morning,

Attached and provided below is the SW Precinct’s March Crime Prevention Newsletter! This month we decided to focus on ways to report suspicious activity and other concerns.

Always remember- if you see something, say something!

Please share this newsletter with your Block Watches, community groups, neighbors and friends.

Let us know if you have any questions!

 

Jennifer Danner #8048

Crime Prevention Coordinator

Southwest Precinct

Seattle Police Department

 

Bewildered or frustrated by our criminal court system?

Would you like to learn more about how a criminal case moves through the system as it goes to trial? Do you want to better understand the many decision points, legal guidelines, and constraints? 

If so, please join us on Tuesday, March 27th, for our monthly meeting!

Our guest speaker will be SW Precinct Liaison Attorney, Joe Everett. He will educate us about the structure and organization of the criminal court system, as well as talk about his role as an advisor to the SW Precinct.

The criminal court system can be complicated in structure and jurisdiction — for example, is it a City of Seattle court or a King County court?

Come hear why a judge might decide to release a defendant on their own recognizance, even when they have a long history of criminal behavior.

Learn about what we as community members can do to help make things better!

As always, we’ll also have an update from SW Precinct Commander, Captain Pierre Davis.

Here’s the detailed agenda.

Meeting schedule (Come early, stay late!)

Tuesday, March 27th, 2018

We meet from 6:30-8 PM in the community meeting room at the SW Police Precinct, 2300 SW Webster Street (at Delridge Ave SW, next to Home Depot).

6:00-6:30             Arrive early for light snacks; socialize with each other while we set up!

6:30-7:00              Introductions, announcements. Update from SW Precinct leadership.

7:00-8:00              SW Precinct Liaison Attorney, Joe Everett.

8:00-8:30              Feel free to stay after the meeting to continue your discussions.

Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t a Block Watch Captain!  RSVP is appreciated, but not necessary to attend.  You can contact us at wsblockwatchnet@gmail.com.

We hope you can join us!

Deb and Karen

Deborah Greer and Karen Berge
West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (WSBWCN)

Follow-up from our February meeting…

Thanks to all who participated in our meeting this week! Special thanks to Crime Prevention Coordinator, Jennifer Danner for her presentation about CPTED; and to SW Precinct Commander, Captain Pierre Davis for his update on recent crime trends.

West Seattle Blog has coverage here. The slidedeck from Jennifer’s presentation is included there. It’s also available here in .pdf format: CPTED Presentation_WSBWCN Feb 2018.

Following the meeting, Jennifer also sent us the following crime prevention resources in .pdf format. Most of these are also available at our monthly meetings in printed format, but this is an easy way to share them with your neighborhoods.

Mail Package Theft Prevention Bulletin

Citywide Car Prowl Prevention Flyer

Car Prowl Prevention Bulletin

Burglary Prevention Bulletin

SWCPTBEATS Jan2018

SW Precinct Online Resources

SW Precinct Public Safety Numbers – February 2018

Our next monthly meeting will be on (4th) Tuesday, March 27th, from 6:30 to 8 PM. We hope you can join us then! We’ll post the agenda as that day draws closer.