In a continuing series of briefings at each of our police precincts, Mayor McGinn visited the South Precinct yesterday to talk with Captain Mike Nolan and Lieutenant John Hayes about what they’re doing to protect public safety this summer. In addition to community outreach, the South Precinct has been honing in on proactive, preventative methods of policing.

The mobile precinct

South Precinct has been working with the community by talking with local businesses, increasing youth outreach, and hosting what South Precinct Commander Captain Nolan calls “barbershop and beauty parlor talks”, where community members are encouraged to have real, honest conversations with police officers. These gatherings provide a space for neighbors to express concerns and ask questions; and in doing so provide a key foundation for preventative policing. By opening a dialogue with a neighborhood, officers and citizens can find ways to work together to address issues in their area before they become real problems.

Similar to the techniques used in the West Precinct (which we covered in our last blog post about summer policing in the West Precinct), Captain Nolan stressed the importance of sending direct patrols to “hot spot” areas of the city. By using data analysis to find the most likely areas for crime and violence in an area, officers can help prevent future crimes from happening.

The South Precinct is taking this idea one step further with the usage of its “mobile precinct”. This large vehicle is built to be a satellite office for the South Precinct, and can be moved to whichever crime area is in need of the most police presence. The mobile precinct has already proven to be an effective crime deterrent, with rave reviews from nearby residents. This summer you’ll see it at various locations around  Rainier Beach as well as Rainier and Othello, Martin Luther King Way and Othello and all of the parks along Lake Washington Boulevard.

We’ll continue to visit each precinct in the next week to find out more about what precinct commanders are doing to prepare for the summer months. Stay tuned on our blog for more on the state of public safety in your neighborhood.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Posted by: Sam Johnston