Hundreds gather at Crossroads police station to celebrate National Night Out

Pay attention and watch out for your neighbors. If you see a problem – get on it right away.

That’s what will keep the neighborhood and the city of Bellevue safe, says Bellevue Police Officer Judy Fleissner.

That also was the message that reverberated through the Bellevue community Tuesday as hundreds gathered to celebrate the 25th annual National Night Out at the Crossroads police station.

During the event, neighbors chatted with police officers who served up Baskin Robbins ice cream and hot dogs provided by Top Foods, while kids climbed inside the police department’s new armored SWAT vehicle.

Kirkland resident Tara Eason came to get her four children’s DNA taken, who are all between the ages of 4-12. Officers took their fingerprints, pictures and swabs and offered to mail Eason a CD containing all the information that she could hand over to police in the event she lost a child.

“I think it’s really neat,” Eason said of the ID system. “It’s good to have a backup plan and know that your kids will be tracked if they are lost.”

The event, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, gave neighbors the chance to get familiar with their police department so they will be less timid about calling, Fleissner said, adding that people should report suspicious activity, even if they don’t feel it’s an emergency.

The event also aims to educate the community about crime prevention.

One of the highest crime issues that Bellevue faces is car prowls, Fleissner said. People tend to leave items in their vehicles in plain view: a purse, laptop or school bag on the seat, the faceplate on their car stereo or a box of CDs.

“That’s just as basic as locking your door and taking your keys,” she said. “Pick up whatever is in your car that people walking by might see and clear that out.”

Officer Tory Mangione, event organizer, said that many people have a false sense of security and feel they can’t be a victim of crime because they’re in a great neighborhood.

Case in point: Vuecrest.

“It’s a nice neighborhood there, but they were getting hammered with construction thefts and a lot of people didn’t lock their doors and were getting burglarized,” Mangione said, adding a lock doesn’t do any good unless it’s locked.

He was able to organize the neighborhood into the Neighborhood Block Watch Program and “now they know what to do. It’s amazing how many people don’t.”

The program is a great way to get to know your neighbors and keep an eye on each other, said Richard Chinn, detective of crime prevention and program captain. There are approximately more than 40 block watch groups in Bellevue throughout various neighborhoods.

Chinn goes out and speaks with groups of home and condo owners, as well as apartment dwellers about how to protect themselves and watch out for their own neighborhood.

“They know what is normal,” Chinn said. “If I see a red car that looks just fine in your driveway, I don’t know if a red car belongs there or a blue car.”

But a neighbor passing by may know that a certain vehicle or person is out of place and can notify the neighborhood that something is awry.

“It’s trying to build a community so no one is by themselves,” he added. “You can rely on the police, but we’re more efficient when people say, ‘hey, there’s someone climbing a fence right now.’”

Joanne Pottier and husband, Fred Owen, have lived in Bellevue for 40 years and run their Lochmoor neighborhood’s block watch program. It started last fall and now more than 60 neighbors are looking out for each other.

If a neighbor sees something suspicious, they notify Pottier and she sends out an e-mail to alert the neighborhood. Chinn also receives the e-mail, which allows him to send out a patrol officer right away.

When the program first began, many of her neighbors feared the loss of privacy. However, she said anyone who receives an e-mail alert cannot see everyone else’s address as it is sent out as a blind carbon copy.

“The block watch makes us feel safer and more aware,” Pottier said. “Most of my life I just went to work and came home and now I feel like I’m just part of a community and we all have to look out for each other.”

Recently, there was a suspicious car driving through the Lochmoor neighborhood that slowed down and stopped in front of a neighbor’s house. A neighbor watched the car stop, go around the block and then come back in front of the house and stop again.

Pottier put out an e-mail alert, asking neighbor’s to try and get a license plate number.

The program also has taught the couple to take a different street home at night and avoid taking a regular route, as well as changing what lights they keep on from time to time both inside and outside of their home.

“They’re small things,” Owen said, “but they help give us a bit of security.”

Now, Owen looks for opportunities to say hello to his neighbors who are out strolling. He will ask them if they are a member of his block watch.

“I always ask them – except the guy who brings his dog onto my lawn every day,” Owen said.

“We still haven’t found him yet,” Pottier said, laughing.

Carrie Wood can be reached at cwood@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4290.

What you can do

The Bellevue Police Department suggests the following tips to prevent household burglary.

Protect your home by starting where the burglars usually start – outside:

* Lock doors and windows.

* Prune lower limbs that could help a thief climb in second floor windows. Don’t forget to trim trees and bushes so doors and windows are visible to neighbors.

* Remember to lock up ladders and tools.

* Criminals most often avoid the light. Porches, yards and entrances to your home and garage should be well lighted.

Inside:

* Store small valuables and cash in camouflaged hiding places throughout the house, not the master bedroom, dining area or refrigerator.

* Don’t display valuable objects in plain view of windows.

* Keep a complete list of your valuable items in a safe place, including serial numbers, brand and model numbers.

* Set electrical timers to turn several lights ON/OFF during the evening hours to duplicate your normal patterns. A radio can be controlled by timer, an advantage during the day.

* Turn down the volume control of the telephone to its lowest setting so it cannot be heard from outside the house.