Wallingford Shop Owners Hire Private Security
- Retailers in Wallingford say rising theft and public-safety concerns pushed them to coordinate private security. - Several shop owners are pooling funds to pay for guards and patrols after repeated incidents. - Neighbors worry this reflects fraying trust in public policing and could become a wider trend (patch.com).
Wallingford shop owners are pooling money for private security after a run of break-ins hit small businesses across the Seattle neighborhood. (king5.com) KING 5 reported April 22 that Seattle police data show burglaries in Wallingford are up 14% this year and 30% over the past two years. Owners told the station they are discussing a shared private patrol because repeated break-ins and repairs are getting harder to absorb. (king5.com) At Changes Bar and Grill, owner Floyd McIsaac said thieves broke in on April 8, stole about $1,000 from a hidden cash box, and caused roughly $6,000 in damage. McIsaac has owned the bar for 37 years and said he now checks his cameras before walking in each morning. (king5.com) FOX 13 reported surveillance video showed two people breaking into Changes at about 7:15 a.m. on April 8, and McIsaac estimated the thieves took $1,000 to $1,500 while leaving about $2,000 in repair costs. The station also reported that The Sock Monster was burglarized on April 11, with merchandise, cash, and computers stolen. (fox13seattle.com) Sock Monster owner Kelly Tremaine told KING 5 a woman smashed through the store’s double-paned front glass, then took merchandise, computers, and cash worth thousands of dollars. The burglary shut the shop for several days while staff completed inventory and repairs. (king5.com) Tremaine said owners are now talking about “getting a private security team that we can all chip in on,” while McIsaac said a shared patrol for a few hours could help deter more break-ins. Their plan is a neighborhood response to crimes that owners say are landing on the same blocks and the same storefronts. (king5.com) Seattle does have a public reimbursement program, but it only offsets part of the damage. The city’s Storefront Repair Fund covers up to $3,000 per incident for eligible repairs, not stolen goods, and businesses must pay first and seek reimbursement later. (seattle.gov; seattle.gov) King County prosecutors have also been filing more felony retail-theft cases as they target repeat offenders and organized theft rings across the Seattle area. Axios Seattle reported in January that those felony retail-theft filings reached a five-year high. (axios.com) For Wallingford merchants, the immediate question is simpler than the policy debate: who keeps watch before the next door gets pried open. Several owners now say the answer may be a guard they hire themselves. (king5.com)
