Neighborhood is not the same anymore | Letter to the Editor
Published 2:51 pm Thursday, February 23, 2012
I live in what used to be a quiet family neighborhood.
Kids played in the street, parents walked their kids to school, walked their dogs, chatted on street corners and waved hello as they passed.
We knew the cars that belonged and the cars that didn’t. We watched out for neighbors, strangers and each other.
All those things still happen on a daily basis around here: Kids and parents slide down a hill during snow storms, neighbors take each other dinner or call to check in, strange cars are noted, unknown faces are searched and memorized.
But there’s an edge to all of it now. Our innocence has been lost, thrown away and departed.
Our quiet family street with children and pets and an occasional coyote or raccoon has transformed into an ongoing episode of COPS, Redmond style. Car prowls and thefts; speeding cars with loud engines and louder music at all hours of the day and night, police and aid cars at least once a month, and now, a gunshot and a fatality in our once peaceful neighborhood. Lives, peace, trust and families are now shattered.
What can we do? After speaking to the Redmond Police Department I learned we have options. We have recourse. We have help!
Some things I learned:
Neighbors who call regarding suspicious activity including cars that don’t belong on the street, “strangers,” and suspected illegal activity are the best resource for the police department/narcotics task force. If you suspect something is wrong, call it in.
Call 911 if an activity is taking place right away even if it’s not an emergency. Dispatch will send an officer to investigate.
Police are required to notify the owner of the home if a tenant commits a crime(s) in owner non-occupied homes (the owner of the home doesn’t live there).
Numbers to call:
• Neighborhood Resource Officer (Education Hill and other parts of Redmond): Officer Julie Beard (on duty after noon), (425) 445–0116
• Neighborhood Watch: Jim Bove (425) 445–2545
• Eastside Narcotics Task Force (Bellevue, Redmond, other Eastside communities): Tip Line, (425) 452 – 4289; Email tip line, bellevuepd@ci.bellevue.wa.us
It only takes one person to get involved to make a difference. Make that one person YOU! Don’t let your neighborhood be altered by the reality of crime and possibly death.
Paige Norman, Redmond
