Earlier this month, I met with Issaquah Police Department (IPD) Interim Police Chief Paula Schwan, City of Issaquah (COI) Parks & Community Services Director Jeff Watling, COI Behavioral Health Services Coordinator Amir Shabaneh, COI Parks Ranger Peter Walters, COI Economic Development Manager Jen Davis Hayes, and Regency Centers Vice President for West Coast Operations Bret Walton to discuss escalating shoplifting, crime, and homelessness in the community, particularly in the Grand Ridge Plaza area.
The City is working on a no trespassing program, which would empower police officers to remove individuals from a property if they are trespassing on private property when the principal landowner or manager is not onsite at the time of the incident. The current laws require that a landowner or business owner must be onsite at the time of the incident to press charges, which is not always feasible at 3 a.m. Calling the Issaquah Police Department’s non-emergency number at 425-837-3200 is important if business owners or residential owners see or hear something suspicious. During an emergency, such as fire or active illegal activity, dial 911.
Even if the police are delayed in arriving to the scene because of recent officer staffing shortages, a call to police creates a call for service log. This is important as it is used as a tool for IPD to determine areas of increased illegal activity and need for on-duty patrols.
All organizations are working vigilantly to keep the community safe. Please review a recent YouTube video by IPD Interim Police Chief Paula Schwan regarding property theft: https://youtu.be/xWzCOKfrXBM. Other helpful videos and resources are available at Issaquahwa.gov.
We are all in this together. If you see something, say something. Lock your home and car doors, have packages delivered to secure locations, keep exterior lights on at night, don’t leave personal property visible in your cars, and stay vigilant. Don’t let crimes go unreported in our community.
