I'm happy about moving to Seattle but I have one concern... (Bellevue: renting, insurance)

[hgfed27]

I'm moving to Seattle in a month or two. Everything about Seattle seems great to me except that recently I stumbled upon something that gives me a little pause. When I found the crime statistics I was initially impressed with the violent crime rates for Seattle and it's surrounding cities as it seemed pretty safe overall. Then I saw the property crime rates... They're really high. I'm from LA and the Seattle area has 86% higher property crime. Now I'm worrying about this.

Can anyone from Seattle help put my mind at ease about this? I'd like to know how native Seattleites percieve the level of property crime/burglaries. Does it feel as bad as it looks on paper?

[tobester]

Personally, I wouldn't worry and I live in the "evil" south end of Seattle. I've lived here nearly 30 years and have been the victim of one property crime - a smash and grab of my GPS I foolishly left out. I think you'll find here people report property crimes (hence the higher numbers) where in California, they realize the futility of reporting someone stealing their trash can.

[flyingsaucermom]

All I can provide is anecdotal evidence, but we had a break in 5 months after we arrived. We were, however, along a busy road and on the corner, and the house we were renting had a LOT of windows (all the doors to the outside were ceiling to floor windows). We knew many other families that also had break-ins that were better protected than ours though. Along with an issue with schools and toll bridges, we decided to move to the Eastside. I miss easy access to independent/art/documentary films (a lot!), but otherwise I'm so glad we moved.

[Hemlock140]

We live in the eastside suburbs and the local paper publishes the crime report weekly. Most of it is classified as property crime but includes such things as a house or tree getting TP'd, something stolen out of a car left open, or shoplifting.
The most frequent crime reported is someone soliciting door to door. In affluent areas people report everything. In Seattle, the most common crime is car prowls. You really don't want to leave a car parked for long on the street in the Belltown area, for example, especially with anything of value in it. When I walk through there every afternoon at least 1-2 times a week I see a car with a broken out window. It's an area where tourists park to go to the Market, and the druggies know it. Home burglaries are rare enough that the make the news.

[Seacove]

Years ago we had a built in GPS stolen out of our SUV. The damage was $10K because they had to rip up the dash, broke the window, sat on the glass ripping the leather in the seat and tore the rear camera and the wiring out of the back. Quite a project and it didn't take them that long on a semi-icy January night. The GPS would be about seven years old now and would be nearing defunct technology considering you can load an app on your phone. The car was definitely parked in the wrong place, not enough lighting and the unusually cold night was the perfect cover for a determined thief (the insurance company said they were trying to take the car). It is generally known you shouldn't leave items visible in your car and I would guess items taken from cars is the most common theft. But a built-in GPS, that was a surprise.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

We live in the eastside suburbs and the local paper publishes the crime report weekly. Most of it is classified as property crime but includes such things as a house or tree getting TP'd, something stolen out of a car left open, or shoplifting.
The most frequent crime reported is someone soliciting door to door. In affluent areas people report everything.

This is absolutely true. I posted this before because I thought it was funny but here is the Police Beat in the Woodinville Weekly. A woman's makeup bag was stolen and actually made our community newspaper.

WOMAN WITHOUT A FACE
A thief with absolutely no sense of propriety entered a Ford Explorer in the 13000 block of NE 197th Place and made off with a woman’s face — well, what would have been her face.
A makeup bag complete with cosmetics and tools of the trade was spirited away and the victim was left to face the day au naturel.

Police Beat

[shaylahc]

The Woodinville police beat is not always accurate (they don't report everything, and I think they like to make it lighthearted to give the illusion that no "real" crime happens in Woodinville). We are having burglary issues in my neighborhood---I live about a mile from the downtown Woodinville area, and my neighborhood has 18 houses. In the past few months 2 houses were burglarized (no one was home) and just last week someone's alarm went off because someone was trying to get in through their back door, at night, when the family was home. It definitely does not make me feel very happy, I feel like a sitting duck sometimes. I am home all day with my kids in the summer (home all day the rest of the year as I'm a SAHM) and it definitely creeps me out knowing there are people scoping out the neighborhood.

That being said, none of it is violent crime. I think if you take proper precautions (don't leave valuables sitting out in plain sight, lock your doors, etc) you should be fine. Seattle has a HUGE homeless population, and I often think this contributes to the problem. I read in the Woodinville weekly on several occasions about people breaking in to homes and BATHING AND EATING while they're there, and that just screams homeless people to me. I think drugs are probably the #1 motivation for these burglaries, IMHO.

I wouldn't let it stop you from moving, but definitely be aware and take precautions.

[Seacove]

Wow, shaylah, really sorry to hear that. We don't live that close to the downtown area and with the lots being around an acre or more each, it seems like a lot of walking and a lot of exposure.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

I live in Phinney Ridge and my car window was smashed in to steal my 8 year old's backpack...this was in Bellevue at a huge trampoline facility during a birthday party. The guy next to me also had his car smashed in but they stole his laptop with all of his company and employee information. Needless to say, he was despondent. I learned my lesson to leave NOTHING in my car that would remotely look interesting.

My car was broken into twice here in our neighborhood and they stole my favorite pair of shoes : ) and my daughters pink raincoat! The house next store to me had an attempted break in but they had left all their windows wide open. The police told me that almost all of these crimes are perpetrated by drug addicts looking for something quick to grab to trade for their fix and that locking and closing all windows every time you leave the house is the greatest deterrent. Also to keep porch light on at night.

All that being said, I have contemplated getting a home alarm system...wonder what peoples thoughts are about them?

[shaylahc]

Originally Posted by beautifulseattlehomes

All that being said, I have contemplated getting a home alarm system...wonder what peoples thoughts are about them?

I'm thinking about getting one. The owners of our home (we live in a rental) had ADT at one point, I'm thinking about reconnecting service.

I have a friend who works in law enforcement, and she did not recommend getting an alarm. She said the biggest problems are 1)since there are so many "false alarms", police tend to put these on lower priority lists, so it could actually take longer to get someone out there on a tripped alarm vs. someone dialing 911 and 2)as the PP mentioned upthread, most of these crimes are "smash and run", where the perpetrator goes in, grabs stuff quickly, and leaves. So by the time the police show up, the thief is long gone.

That being said, an alarm system does provide some peace of mind, I do know my neighbor's alarm did work to scare off the perp in his attempted break in. If nothing else, plaster home security signs all over your windows and yard, and try and make it look like someone is always home (when we travel I like to park our 2nd car in the driveway so it looks like someone is home).