西雅图企业：深受破门盗窃困扰
zijin ｜ komonews ｜2023-03-15
西雅图乔治敦社区的企业在最近报道的一连串破门盗窃事件后，正在向警方求助。
周三清晨，窃贼闯入第四大道和边际路附近的一家餐馆，老板说这是近年来第12次发生这种情况。
炸鸡店SODO Chicken的店主说，最近几周，包括他家在内的多家企业都发生了破门盗窃事件，而那些人都没有被追究责任。
监控录像显示，一名身穿保安制服的男子在早上7点左右闯入餐厅，该男子撬开了锁，并打破了厨房的门。
在几个月前的一次入室盗窃后，店主修好了前门，而且他还用胶合板盖住了在另一次入室盗窃中被砸碎的前窗。他说，他没有能力修复数千美元的损失，这对他这样的小企业来说尤其困难。
一年前，正是在这个地区，犯罪活动猖獗，部分原因是一个无家可归者营地，其后来被清除了。
当时，许多新闻报道了该营地发生的枪击事件和更多的破门事件。
Mose汽车店老板巴雷拉（Barrera）说，在过去的几周里，犯罪行为又出现了，包括破坏围栏和试图从她的停车场偷车。巴雷拉和其他店主们说，他们感谢警方在力所能及的情况下提供的支持，但也理解人员配置的危机。
同时，她说，一些企业正在通过推迟营业时间来解决安全问题。
西雅图警方表示：“关于该地区的巡逻，警方继续鼓励社区报告发生在他们社区的犯罪活动，如果情况不紧急，不需要警方到现场，那么可以使用非紧急电话（206）625-5011或进行在线报告。警方以数据为导向，利用这些信息协助在全市范围内分配资源，并确定社区内发生的犯罪。”
Georgetown businesses plagued by break-ins, thefts in recent weeks
https://komonews.com/news/local/washington-crime-seattle-homeless-crisis-neighborhood-auto-shop-thefts-georgetown-businesses-police-department-rv-encampment-report-rash-of-break-ins-in-recent-weeks
SEATTLE — A restaurant owner said repeat crime is forcing him to leave Seattle after about a dozen burglaries. His is one of a few businesses in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood calling for help from police following a reported string of break-ins and thefts in recent weeks.
Andrew Lo replaced the locks at his restaurant off 4th Avenue and Marginal Way on Wednesday, something that’s unfortunately become a pretty regular task. This time, surveillance footage shows a man dressed in a security uniform and another person breaking into SODO Chicken’ around 7 a.m.
“They’re professionals," Lo said. "They jimmied the lock, came in here, broke through my kitchen door, too, just looking for stuff to steal. We’re all still just recovering from Covid, just struggling to make ends meet, and these sorts of things set us back so much.”
Down the street, Cascade Columbia is dealing with a similar crime.
“Besides the graffiti and the trash and the illegal dumping and everything, we had somebody try to cut into the fence in the last few weeks trying to get inside our facility,” Sales Representative Ed Ball added.
It’s near where crime ran rampant, including a shooting a year ago, stemming in part from an RV encampment that has since been cleared. Mose Auto Shop Owner MariaJose Barrera says crime has returned in the past couple of weeks, including damage to fences and an attempt to steal cars from her lot.
“They damaged ignitions, they damaged doors, so that’s also an expense we have to repair because those vehicles are under our watch,” she stated.
Barrera and other shops claim there’s been a lesser police presence since the RV encampment was removed, but they understand the staffing crisis. Still, she and others said this area needs more help.
“More resources for people who are incapacitated," Ball said. "Why are they doing this? Whether it’s drugs, mental health, we’d like to see the people taken care of, but also more prosecution.”
And while Lo loves serving this community, he said he’s had enough.
“Honestly, just looking at moving out of Seattle," Lo explained. "I feel like not enough progress has been made. It’s just not a safe place to do business anymore.”
"In regards to patrols in the area, the department continues to encourage the community to report criminal activity occurring in their neighborhoods," a Seattle Police spokesperson wrote in an email to KOMO. "If the situation is not an emergency and does not require an officer to respond to the scene, then it can be reported using the non-emergency line (206) 625-5011 or utilize online reporting. The department is data-driven and utilizes this information to assist in allocating resources throughout the city and to identify the crimes occurring in the community."
