Seattle launches customized policing plans for 55 neighborhoods

Seattle’s police have a crime reduction plan custom-made for 55 neighborhoods and they want you to follow along.

Be it stolen cars, drug houses or property crimes, the Seattle Police Department has launched “Micro-Community Policing Plans,” which are individual and hyper-local plans that target each neighborhood, determining priorities for police.

The plans allow participants to communicate directly with their respective police precinct.

For example, in Lake City, the police department has determined that burglaries, public intoxication, urination and harassment are among the top priorities. In Alki, summer crowd behavior, as well as driving and parking on Alki Avenue are being watched closely. Robberies and assaults are noted for Capitol Hill. For those living in Roosevelt/Ravenna, cops are on the lookout for burglaries, bar noise and drug use.

To see and take part in the plans, residents will have to join Nextdoor.com, a social network that is specific to neighborhoods around Seattle.

A full list of neighborhoods and their respective priorities are listed on the police department’s website.

“These Micro Community Policing Plans recognize the uniqueness of Seattle’s neighborhoods and that our communities need more than a one-size-fits-all approach to public safety,” said Mayor Ed Murray in a press release. “I’m encouraged by SPD’s efforts to use an innovative social media platform such as Nextdoor and look forward to seeing more departments experiment with Nextdoor and pursue other creative ways to engage and better serve the public.”

The cops’ approaches to neighborhood crime will be reviewed and critiqued by Seattle University.