Loyal Heights neighbors meet to discuss crime

About 40 people gathered at the Loyal Heights Community Center Thursday night to talk about ways to curb crime in the neighborhood.

“Both of our cars were stolen within a week of each other,” said one neighbor. “I watched a drug deal go down right in front of me,” said another, who said it happened in broad daylight near Loyal Heights Elementary — a growing problem around the school. Neighbors talked about organizing on-call patrols, creating broader block watches, holding neighborhood events and building a website. They also talked about working closely with SPD and the city to increase patrols and install more lighting and signs, especially around Salmon Bay Park, Loyal Heights Playfield and the elementary school. The meeting was organized by Mindy Terence, a concerned neighbor who says she got the idea from an exchange in comments in this story on My Ballard. “It seems like there’s a real need for people to get to know each other and be aware,” Terence said.