Bellevue Police will address concerns from Enatai residents about a series of burglaries that occurred in the area last month and ways to improve coordination between the neighborhood and law enforcement in the future during a meeting 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 31 at Enatai Elementary.
The department met with residents in the Enatai neighborhood following a rash of burglaries last summer, and has since been keeping in touch with the neighborhood association to more quickly recognize community concerns, said Amanda Jensen, residential crime prevention detective for the Bellevue Police Department. Property crimes have spiked nationwide, the detective said, with five burglaries reported in the Enatai neighborhood in February.
Those crimes gained a lot of attention and comments from residents through Nextdoor.com — a private social network that allows neighbors to share information. Jensen added Nextdoor.com has a tendency to cause panic in neighborhoods, causing residents to perceive crime as being rampant when it isn’t.
“The (city) council started to get lots of letters and things from people,” Jensen said, which prompted the March 31 meeting, which is being co-hosted by the Enatai Neighborhood Association. A notice also was posted in the elementary school’s newsletter to parents. “We’re going to try to get them statistics and talk about what we’re going to do to deal with their concerns.”
Patrols have been increased in the Enatai neighborhood, said Jensen, adding it is rare for an officer to view a crime as it’s occurring.
“When we catch people, it’s when neighbors see things and call us,” she said. “We have increased the patrols and asked people to drive through and be visible and vigilant.”
Enatai Elementary is located at 10615 S.E. 23rd St., and the meeting will be held in the gym.