Many businesses in the ID were broken into during August, something that is causing anxiety for business owners. (Photo provided by the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce)
By Staff
Seattle Chinese Post
More than seven stores were broken into during the week of Aug. 17. With the help of May Wan, the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s senior adviser, businesses gathered together to discuss the break-ins. The Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA) contacted the West Precinct of SPD and asked them to participate in the meeting and be prepared to discuss with the community the rash of attempted break-ins. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) summed all related complaints and appointed an officer to deal specifically with them.
Reported businesses that were broken into include Ocean City Restaurant, Jade Garden Restaurant, Cake House, Honey Court Seafood Restaurant, the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Tropic Thai Restaurant, and Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant. There is no reported evidence that this chain of offenses was committed by the same criminals.
To unite business owners in preventing crime in the International District (ID), May Wan invited the SPD-West Precinct officers to meet owners and discuss solutions.
Owners stated that they would like to see more SPD patrols in the ID. They said they think even one parked patrol car is enough to deter criminals.
Owners expressed that they have lost their patience with the continual security problems in the ID.
The SPD explained that they aren’t able to provide enough security for every district due to limited resources. However, they said they would appreciate the owners’ providing descriptions or videos of suspects. Moreover, the SPD urged owners to meet with Mike McGinn and Joe Mallaham, candidates for Seattle Mayor, regarding public security in Seattle.
On Aug. 26 and 28, the CIDBIA arranged to hire off duty SPD to patrol the district to attempt to catch criminal activities in progress. To that end, they were successful. Funds from CIDBIA’s safety program were used to pay these officers.
On Aug. 30, an individual caught throwing a brick into a window was arrested by the SPD. The person denied being involved in the string of burglaries. The SPD is looking into this matter.
Last week, SPD-West Precinct arrested another individual breaking into a restaurant in Little Saigon. He admitted to one burglary.
“To my knowledge, we haven’t had any additional problems since that arrest took place,” CIDBIA Executive Director Maribeth Ellis said. ♦
CIDBIA is holding a board meeting this Friday, Sept. 11, at 9:00 a.m. on the second floor of the original Uwajimaya store located on South Main Street in the International District. CIDBIA will address the burglaries that occurred in August and public safety. For more information, call 206-382-1197.
Mei Lau and Stacy Nguyen contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story has been edited from its original to fix inaccuracies.