TAKING A STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE
Building Community To End Crime and Violence
Why Being Involved is Important
Neighbors are concerned, angry and frustrated about the amount of crime in our city, particularly violent crime; burglaries, home invasion robberies, car-jackings, assaults and homicides. Every neighborhood in Seattle has been impacted; shootings in Lake City and Belltown, stabbings at Golden Gardens, homicides in Rainier Beach, Roosevelt and West Seattle. The problems of crime and violence in our communities cannot be solved by police alone. Police respond, intervene, interdict and incarcerate, but police alone do not prevent crimes. You, the community, are the catalyst in preventing crime.
The history of block watch, that tradition of neighbors coming together to reduce crime is what celebrating Night Out is all about. One of our former Crime Prevention Coordinators, Grace Jansens, once said, “Neighborhoods have the amount of crime they tolerate.” Now, more than ever, Grace’s words resonate throughout our community. Neighborhoods have said “ENOUGH.” Enough of the crime. Enough of the senseless violence. We will tolerate no more.
What You Can Do
At your Night Out event, you can make a commitment to reduce crime and violence in your community. Take the opportunity as neighbors gathered together to talk about what you can and will do. Whether you act together or individually, we ask you to act. So what can you do? Here are some suggestions:
As simple as
- organizing a block watch if you don’t already have one
- organizing a walking group – be a visible presence in your neighborhood
- being watchful and report suspicious activity to 911, no matter how trivial you might think it to be
- changing the way in which you as an individual choose to resolve conflict; do you take a moment to stop, think, breathe and then respond, or do you just act or lash out?
- If you own a firearm, store it safely and securely so it isn’t stolen and possibly used to commit a crime
As complex as
- advocating for increased treatment availability for those with mental illness
- getting involved in making legislative changes
- advocating for services for ex-offender re-entry
As direct as
- volunteering as a youth mentor or tutor
- providing an internship for a young person; better yet, hire them
- speak to groups of youth about career options-share your experience
