Comments

1
I wanted to say "rich people doing rich people shit" but $200 per family a year? How?!
Curious how the security is being employed as well. If they are being paid by an HOA of some sort homeowners could be placing themselves at risk should a confrontation escalate and someone is hurt.
2
Just a reminder that anyone who has had the same training as the police has been trained to shoot to kill anyone holding a knife less than 22 feet away. Point your gun and take one step back? No, that's not real police training. Real professional police training is to shoot. And real police training is every single time you shoot, you shoot to kill, no exceptions.

So yeah, it's so awful that these pinkertons don't have proper police training but then again, what good is proper police training? The only real way out of this self-activating cycle of violence is to remove anyone who's a product of modern police culture from our streets. Maybe bring in some cops trained in the UK or something. But realistically, just stop hiring more cops. Instead, deploy people who have appropriate training to deal with people in crisis, drugs, domestic violence, whatever the case may be.

Paying these guys who only know how to whip their gun out really, really fast and kill in a way that ensures they won't be held accountable are not achieving anything.
3
On what basis are they removing the juveniles from the public parks?
5
@4: because they spend too much time reading Nextdoor and their knickers are in a twist?
6
I'd pay $200/year.
7
@4 Why do dogs make that Donald Trump smiley face before they throw up?
8
@4

Why do the rich white people want more cops around? Why? Why?

It's because they're conservative. Conservatives think life is fair. Someone is shot dead in the street by the police? Well, since life is fair, then they must have deserved it. Even if they weren't really holding a gun that time, they probably did something else, some other time. Or they definitely will some day. These things have to be so because life IS fair. Beaten into a coma by police? Obviously they deserved it. Life is fair, and so how could anything happen to anyone unless they deserved it? I have a huge house and four cars, and I live in Laurelhurst. I must be smart, and hard working. I must. Because life IS fair. Conservatives are babies who think life is fair. Like six year olds.

You know who else loves cops? Six year olds.

Life is not fair, babies. Just because someone lives in Laurlhurst, that doesn't mean they're good, or smart, or they're not a lazy parasite. When you see them going out of their way to terrorize the most vulnerable people in our society, you can't help but realize that there are some very bad people indeed living it up in Laurlehurst, and that life is not fair.
10
When I'm on vacation my next door neighbors grab the packages off my porch and generally keep an eye on things. For free. And I do the same for them. Strange concept to some, apparently.
11
Well it’s hard to defend this, but I’ll try: I own a home in Seattle, and thus I am considered rich by The Stranger, and maybe everything I say will sound like the words of an entitled asshole. But the fact is I’ve had grills stolen off my porch (twice), mail taken out of my mailbox, packages pilfered directly off my doorstep (more times than I can count). Seattle cops are hugely overwhelmed and underfunded and utterly ineffective when it comes to this shit, and if you’d rather not get robbed you have to get security cameras, or start neighborhood watch groups. It’s not racism. It’s not fear of “the other.” It’s just common sense.
13
@11 I doubt these people each had the equivalent of $200 worth of stuff stolen per year so why do it?
14
How exactly do you know your mail and packages were stolen? Everyone I know gets mail and packages addressed to the house next door or a block over, all the time. If I'm getting other people's mail, obviously other people sometimes get mine.

Why would you rather pay $200 every year for a guy to harass teenagers over in a park when you can have a security camera for less than half that? Or have your packages delivered to work? Or a locker? Or buy a package drop box of whatever size suits you for less than $200? There are things in your power that could easily solve your package problem. Why not do that? Why not stick a bike lock on your barbecue if you're going to leave it sitting around? Cheaper than $200 per year.

Assuming your packages are actually being stolen, which is doubtful for several reasons (most packages are worthless soap and underwear, brick and mortar stores wouldn't be going out of business if package theft was a significant problem, misdelivered mail is common...).

How come you brought up racism? Nobody mentioned it. Maybe just something that was on your mind.

Your claims don't add up. What does add up is that there are lots of people who would be happy to pay $200 a year to have reports that their employee harassed and rouged up anyone who looked "suspicious" *wink* *wink*. Plus when you hire your own cops, you can be sure ever dollar is going to be spent cracking skulls of people who "look like they don't belong". Unlike your city tax dollar which gets eaten up on all kinds of things that help people, any only a fraction spent on terrorizing those who look shabby, unclean or, you know, "sketchy" *wink*.

My advice? Stop. Reading. Nextdoor. Ever. Delete your Nextdoor account. Speak as little as possible to anyone who reads Nextdoor. There, I just saved you $200 a year. Your welcome.
16
Where can kids hangout? Too bad we can’t hang out in parks anymore because we could get arrested. Rich people are bad for society and are making more and more laws so that more people go to prison and don’t want positive change that could make things better for everyone else. Its class war and makes life harder for kids. Rich people ARE telling everyone else how to live. And do it with their police and prisons.
17
@15

White privilege is not what you think it is, bud. Where'd you get your definition?

I'm here mostly to tell people who think life is fair to admit they think life is fair. I know it grates on them and they want so much to deny it. But look at the facts. They clearly think life is fair.

The inconsistency in their excuses for wanting a private security force is obvious. There are cheaper and more reliable ways to solve the problems they say they are bothering them so much. The one thing you can't get any other way is "suspicious" *wink* type people feeling afraid. Fear restores the class boundary.

Turn off Nextdoor. Get yourself one of those nice package drop boxes. They come in stylish colors. This way lies real peace of mind. Respectability.
18
@15 what's next? private fire departments? You do want a complete return to the gilded age, don't you?
19
I don't understand the objections to people paying out of their own pocket to have additional security and peace of mind. Hiring off-duty cops in Laurelhurst frees up more of our on-duty cops who are being paid by all taxpayers to do their jobs and the rest of the city. I would think that's a good thing?

Besides, can anyone honestly argue that the cops have been doing a stellar job with regards to property crime in Seattle? We have illegal encampments spread throughout the city leaving mounds of trash everywhere and I'm pretty sure all those bikes we see aren't being fixed up to give to needy kids. We have about the highest property crime rate in the nation. It's getting out of control, because the cops are understaffed and the mayor and the city council tells them to have a hands-off policy. I've had stuff stolen from me over the years, and I even got in a fight with a man in front of my house who threatened my family. And every single time the cops couldn't even be bothered to come take a report. The number one responsibility of government, be it local or federal, is the safety and security of its citizens. And Seattle has been failing miserably in that regard lately.

So I wish I could afford to shell out money like that for my own private security force. I would if I could. But I don't begrudge someone richer than me the right or ability to do so.
20
"We have about the highest property crime rate in the nation."

False, along with all that other bullshit you got on Nextdoor. That failed city attorney candidate did a hamfisted analysis of the FBI crime data, and made a city to city comparison. Even though the data comes with a big warning saying DO NOT do a city to city comparison with this data.

Seattle's crime is at a historic low. If you seriously think it's unbearable now, what the hell would you have done if you lived here 20 years ago? And actually it was terrible everywhere 20 years ago.

Almost as if crime goes up and down everywhere regardless of what the local police do!

"The [extremely popular] mayor and the city council tells them to have a hands-off policy." People in Seattle have told our leaders very clearly we don't really think crime is a huge problem. We don't want more policing. If we did, we wouldn't keep re-electing people who give police such a low priority.

That's why everyone is taking a dump on all of these sad nimby antics Laurelhurst does, and the things you say. It doesn't make any fucking sense. If anything you said was true, a law & order mayor candidate would have stood a chance. None of the top 5 mayoral candidates had anything like a law & order platform. Top 5! City council? Nope. You had runoffs between candidates vying to show the most compassion, to prove they were the best one to help people in crisis. But none bragging they'd kick crime's ass.

And "mounds of trash everywhere"? Jesus, are you twelve years old? How old do you have to be to remember when plastic bags and cigarette butts were fucking everywhere? Seattle looks like Disneyland.

"I'm pretty sure all those bikes we see..." Classic Nextdoor bullshit. Does anybody on that sad hate forum know a fucking thing about bikes? The bikes you see are trash. They're old, low tech, low-grade crap. They were donated because they have zero resale value. Again, if there were any truth to what you say, the people of the city would be with you. The crime data would agree with you. Without comparing Seattle to other cities, we do know Seattle's crime today is far lower than 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 25 years ago. Including bike theft. You don't know what the fuck you're taking about. Maybe the reason the cops won't take your report is that they think you're a crank.

Why would a street criminal show up at your door and threaten your family? Is that going to get him high somehow? No. No score there. Why would anybody do that? Because they have a personal beef with you. You have enemies. Why do you have enemies? I can't imagine. But don't blame it on an imaginary crime wave.

Look at the facts. The facts say you speak of that which you don't know of, and you make shit up. If there's any truth to what you claim, you probably have personal problems in your life that don't say anything about the rest of the city. Log out of Nextdoor, and focus on getting your own shit together. You're being fed lies by paranoids and trolls.

Anyway, you said "I don't understand". There's your answer. Maybe you understand now. If you want people to get behind this bullshit crime narrative, you're going to have to figure out a way for it to make sense.
21
@20 You are so incredibly bent out of shape it's laughable. You seem completely unaware of just how nutty you come across.

Seattle does have very high property crime rates -- that's a fact. If these residents wish to hire their own private security, then so be it. They are not detracting from public services in any way whatsoever. It's their own choice and it has no impact on you whatsoever.

Seattle parks are typically closed after dusk. I see no problem with off-duty Seattle police officers enforcing those rules. Don't like the rules regarding city park hours? Then get off The Stranger comments section and petition the city to change them.
22

I said " We have about the highest property crime rate in the nation." The hamfisted analysis you speak of that Scott Lindsay talked about is discussed in the link I posted below. Which I was aware of, so that's why I said we have "about" the highest rate. Where Lindsay went wrong is in saying we have the highest in the nation, typically considered biggest 50 cities. We're not the #1 worst, we're the 6th worst. Woo hoo! So much better! And if you consider the top 20 biggest cities, we actually ARE #1 for property crime.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new…

I don't need Nextdoor to tell me about the growing lawlessness; I see it and experience it, as have many of my friends and neighbors. You're a serious dumb fuck if you think those piles of bikes in the encampments were donated. And everyone I know in my hood thinks it's gotten significantly worse over the last couple of years. And that's coming from someone whose lived here well over 20 years.

But go ahead, hang out with your friends under I-90 and spend the night with them. I'm sure you'd do just fine, no need for the evil cops to come rescue you. Better yet, since you're so compassionate, let some of them sleep in your house. Surely you have spare room or even a couch?

Lastly, about the election: One big difference between Durkan and Moon was that Durkan said she wouldn't allow camping in parks, while Moon wanted to double down on what those fuckwits Mike O'Brien and Sawant have been proposing. And the voters also told Nikita Oliver to take a hike with her anti-cop nonsense. Sorry, your heroes lost. Not that am I big Durkan fan either, but my god, we'd be screwed if either of the other two got in there. Might as well roll out the welcome mat for the nation's junkies to come to the promised land of Freeattle.
24
I really have no problems with this given the issues that happened this last summer with the Movies in the Park over at Magnuson Park. And if you rent an apartment in many places in King County your landlord or management company may hire private security companies to monitor your rental property. This is a non-issue and hardly the starting off point to private fire departments and the other bullshit claims the looney left is pushing
25
My biggest issue here is off duty officers preforming private security work in Uniform.

It's fine if they want to work off the clock but it should be clear whether or not they're representing the public.
26
Hear the whines of denial from the usual corner that privatization of public services is occurring in many municipalities (including fire departments) amidst the ~40 year campaign to drown government in a bathtub:

“Since the 2008 financial crisis, private equity firms have increasingly taken over public services like emergency care and firefighting, often with dire effects.”


27
@26 the article with details is rather entertaining: When You Dial 911 and Wall Street answer…
28
If a community group is willing to pay to hire security guards to ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS, it's their business. The police are obviously unwilling to deliver a service up to the standards of the community. If the security guards do something illegal themselves, then they should and will be held accountable.
29
Over the summer we had about 6 burglaries within a 6 block area of our place. City response - hmm so sad but property crime isn't a priority.

$200 for a rent-a-cop for the year sounds.... like a bargain.

30
@26 What the Laurelhurst residents are doing is *not* the privatization of public services. Hiring off-duty police does not detract from nor degrade public services in any way, shape or form. None of us in this comment thread want our public services to be privatized.
31
@30 claiming there is systemic failure of public service then turning around and hiring private service instead amounts to privatization of said service pretty much by definition.
32
@31 No, it is not. The privatization of public services would entail *replacing* public services with privately operated services. That's not what's happening here. Not a single Laurelhurst resident is suggesting that we replace the SPD with a privately owned and operated police force. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Laurelhurst residents voted overwhelmingly to *increase* funding for SPD.

This is *not* to say that the privatization of public services is not a major problem elsewhere in the country -- it's just not a problem in Seattle. It's not even remotely close to being a problem in Seattle.
35
If there were really that many car prowls or burglaries, the people would vote for leaders who would hire more cops. The voters are divided on all kinds of things. Which approach to help the homeless, or which approach to make housing affordable. They agree more housing should be built, but they all want it built in somebody else's neighborhood. That's a tough nut to crack.

Crime is an easy one. Most everyone in Seattle agrees that there isn't all that much crime and it's not that high a priority. The reason so many guys on Nextdoor and other online forums are so angry is that they are failing at convincing Seattle that there is a crime wave or a property crime crisis. Scott Lindsay ran on a platform that this crime wave was real and not a phantom, and Scot and his phantom crime wave were *crushed*. A forty five point margin. That's got to hurt.

People don't believe you. They don't believe you because they aren't seeing all this crime. They aren't seeing it because it's not real. You guys are sitting here repeating the same failed arguments. My car got broken into! My barbecue was kidnapped, and possibly raped! My Amazon Prime never arrived! That didn't work. Lost by forty five points. That's a spanking.

Log out of Nextdoor, and spend more time outdoors. Speak to more people face to face. That's reality. Drink deep of that. Mmmmm, good, good reality, the mother's milk of truth. Get yourself all that reality and build a reality-based argument, from the ground up. Your new Nextdoor-free, reality-based argument is going to look nothing like the phony crime wave tale that Scott Lindsay and his ilk were peddling.

Also: life is not fair, babies. Life is not fair.
37
@31 No, it is not. Privatization of public services would entail *replacing* public services with privately owned and operated services. That is *not* what is happening in Laurelhurst.

No one in Laurelhurst is advocating for the privatization of SPD. In fact, it's just the opposite. Laurelhurst residents voted overwhelmingly to increase funding for SPD.

This is not to say that privatization of public services is not a problem elsewhere in the country -- it's just not a problem in Seattle. It's not even remotely close to being a problem.
38
@36

Lets find out!

How come the mail man doesn't need a gun? How come the utility meter reader doesn't need a gun? How come the guy at the needle exchange doesn't need one? So many mysteries. Let's do it and find out. I mean obviosly, the idea that "L&I" is going to "force" anyone to carry a gun is just ignorant. I think you heard a guy on a barstool yelling about how L&I is Hitler and Stalin and you thought you knew what L&I is and what they do.

But still: let's try it and find out. Hey, aren't you one of the guys who keeps predicting businesses in Seattle are going to close and unemployment will rise? So I guess making wrong predictions is something you're comfortable with.

40
First the Stranger advocates polices that screw up our neighborhoods. (Stop the sweeps, Bring on the RVs. Go, Mike O'Brien!)

Then they tear the cops down and fight the City hiring more of them. (Block the Bunker. Cops are racist murderers. Go Kshama!)

Then they ridicule people for hiring their own cops to keep their neighborhoods safe.

Seattle, this is why you can't have nice things.

Please wait...

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