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Public safety leaders discuss crime affecting businesses in South King County.
The Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce is working to bring local public safety leaders and community members to the table to discuss business issues and potential resources to address the issues.
King County, Wash. – A spike in crime in Western Washington is causing some business owners to close up shop, leaving others open to deal with the dangers of increased crime activity.
The Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce is working to bring local public safety leaders and community members to the table to discuss business issues and potential resources to address the issues.
“Public safety is of course a top priority for our members. And this event is designed to make those introductions, provide those resources and connect our community with the public safety departments that serve our region,” said President Annie McGrath. and CEO of the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber represents businesses in Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac and Tukwila. On October 19, the group will host the first Regional Public Safety Roundtable with leaders from each city to find new solutions to the common problems they are facing.
“Public safety is economic growth,” said Sammy Lee, CEO of the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce. “We want to bring everyone to the table and talk about common trends and how each city is approaching each trend and resource that the business community can use.”
Todd Morrell, Acting Chief of the Burin Police Department, will be one of the participants in the Public Safety Roundtable. He said he believes that members of the public who listen to the discussion will learn the importance of reporting.
“People are frustrated. Businesses are frustrated and sometimes they show up for underreporting. And frustration is justified. “Why call the police? Nothing happens? They don’t do anything. “That underreporting has downstream effects. It affects how I deploy my resources, it affects crime statistics,” Morell said. “It increases vulnerability because if we don’t know when and where something is going to happen, it’s very difficult to develop a strategic approach to fix those issues.”
Tyler Stead, a technician at Meineck in Des Moines, said the auto shop is going through a tough time with homelessness and open drug use cases on the rise.
“If you asked me how we did here last year, I would have told you that we were a million dollar store because we were in that position. Now it’s really downhill,” Steed said.
The store is located on Pacific Highway South, where criminal activity is booming. At one point, the Des Moines Police Department began emphasizing the highway to reduce crime.
Stead said pen drug use occurs regularly, sometimes in front of customers.
“I see them standing in the middle of our parking lot hitting foil. It needs to change. That needs to go,” Steed said. “I’m probably chasing someone out of our dumpster every day. Not only are they in dumpster diving, but they’re doing drugs behind the dumpster. And everybody can see it, smell it.”
The business community in southwest King County is dealing with similar public safety challenges. It’s also happening in Western Washington and across the state.
“We know that the cities we serve are not alone in the challenges and opportunities they face, so we’re in a unique position to be able to provide this forum for everyone to have that conversation,” McGrath said.
“We are not alone in this. We all face this and we are all working hard to keep our communities safe,” said Lt.
The Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce’s Public Safety Roundtable is being highlighted from 7-8:30pm on Wednesday, October 19th and is free to attend. Registration is available on the Chamber website.
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