West Seattle crime meeting sparked by increasing violence

Violence and other criminal activity prompted a Tuesday meeting with Southwest Youth and Family Services and the targets of the crimes: West Seattle youth.

“There should be no reason for violence to be part of life here,” said Family Services Executive Director Steve Daschle.

But that has not been the case recently. There’s been an ongoing problem of criminal activity targeting youth. Most recently, a 15-year-old girl was grabbed while walking through Westwood Village Tuesday morning, according to police.

It’s not just a few residents who are concerned about criminal activity in West Seattle. Crime in the area has sparked a variety of community meetings, including the one led by students Tuesday night.

Related: Crime crackdown planned for downtown Seattle

Reports of crime in the area prompted the Seattle Police Department to increase patrols on popular routes to schools recently.

The student-led meeting was created to start the discussion of what can be done to protect youth and lower crime in the area. Steps toward a safer community could include creating more youth-oriented opportunities, and more interaction with police in positive ways, Daschle said.

Depending on the nature of the conversation, plans for trying to reduce crime could be established. More meetings may be scheduled as well, Daschle said.

The West Seattle meeting follows the announcement that the police department has custom-made crime-reduction plans for 55 neighborhoods. For example, the Alki summer crowd behavior, as well as driving and parking on Alki Avenue are being watched closely. There are eight southwest precinct neighborhoods that made the watch list.