Car prowls are a common crime in many Seattle parks, including Green Lake Park.
A search of SeattleCrime.com’s crime map shows 20 reported car prowls over the last month in the very immediate geographic area surrounding the lake. Most took place in or adjacent to Green Lake Park:
Screenshot of SeattleCrime.com map results. You can replicate this search by clicking through to access the map, zooming in to the Green Lake area, and then searching Property Crime >> Car Prowl and limiting to "Seattle Police Reports" and "This Month."
“Parks like Green Lake, Seward, and Discovery Park, where people often meet up to go for a walk, a run, or to exercise with friends are popular car prowl targets,” says Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston.
“If you sit in the parking lot, you will surely see someone pull in, put their purse under the seat or in the trunk, change shoes and off they go with a fairly predictable time of return,” Terrie adds.
Car prowls are fast, easy and lucrative for criminals, she says, but expensive, inconvenient and aggravating for victims.
All makes and models of vehicles are targeted by thieves commiting car prowls, according to Terrie. They are usually looking for GPS devices, cell phones, purses, cash, laptops, cameras, luggage and garage remotes, all of which is typically traded or sold on the street within minutes of the crime.
The Green Lake neighborhood also experiences car thefts. A look at car thefts during the last month in the area surrounding the lake shows that this crime seems to be localized more on neighborhood streets than in the park:
Screenshot of SeattleCrime.com map results. You can replicate this search by clicking through to access the map, zooming in to the Green Lake area, and then searching Property Crime >> Auto Theft and limiting to "Seattle Police Reports" and "This Month."
Car are often stolen for their parts, including airbags, according to Terrie. Sometimes, she says, cars are stolen for commercial operations, theft rings and chop shop operations; sometimes they are stolen for use in another crime, such as juvenile joyriding, insurance fraud and exchange for drugs.
How to prevent car thefts? Terrie recommends using a steering wheel lock or another disabling device, such has a hidden ignition kill switch, an immobilizer, a passkey or an electronic key. You should also, of course, keep you car locked and parked inside a locked garage.
