Vehicle Prowls Rising in Alabama Hill

     In the last five years, reports of vehicle prowling in the Alabama Hill neighborhood has been steadily increasing.

     In March of 2011, there were seven reported vehicle prowls (compared to the normal one or two), according to Bellingham Police Department records.

     “Our van was broken into twice in 2009, about two months apart. My iPod was stolen,” said Alabama Hill resident Laura Moore in an email interview. “My husband says that two kids were caught breaking into cars on Alabama Hill a few weeks later and apparently they had been doing it all over the neighborhood.”

     Some believe that the kind of people Alabama Hill attracts facilitates this kind of criminal activity.

     “Alabama Hill used to be mostly families, but recently [different kinds of people] have been moving in,” said Alabama Hill resident Amber Mulder. “I’ve been hearing more and more instances of people getting their cars broken into.”

     In 2007, there were a total of 24 vehicle prowls reported in the Alabama Hill area, according to Bellingham Police Department records. The count was the same in 2008.  In 2009, the reported number of vehicle prowls rose to 27. In 2010, the number of reported vehicle prowls was 30.

     These numbers do not represent every car prowl that happened in the neighborhood. People do not always report these things, in which they are not counted in this data. The upward trend in car prowls could also be a result of more people beginning to report them.

     “The first time our van was broken into we didn’t report it,” said Moore. “Actually, come to think of it, we didn’t report it the second time either! So there are probably even more people that have been affected.”

     There are many trails and parks in the neighborhood. “There’s a lot of people walking around on trails and on the streets to and from parks and trails,” Mulder said. “People can see into cars and get ideas, seeing things they might want to steal out of the cars.”

     In Alabama Hill, Whatcom Falls Park is a popular destination. Right next to this is St. Clair Park.

     “During the summertime, this parking lot is full of cars bumping loud music and littering the street with their fast food trash,” Moore said. “Instead of little kids on the swing sets, you'll see teenagers having a ride. Because I live one house away from the park, we hear their music and hysterical laughter up into the wee hours of the morning. It is for this reason I wonder whether it is those same kids prowling the streets at night looking for some kind of trouble to get into.”

     So what can you do to make the number of car prowls stop rising and start decreasing?

     “People should probably put more effort into protecting their cars, adding car alarms or parking in their garages if they have them,” said Moore. “But ultimately, our little nook is much safer that many in the world.”

According to the Seattle Police Department’s website, there are a number of things you can do to try to prevent vehicle prowls. -Make a habit of locking your car doors. -Store your car in a garage or carport if possible. -If your car is stored in a carport or outside, leave your outside lights on all night. -If you park on the street, choose a well-lit, open space. Add yard/street lighting and cut back trees/bushes to make this possible. -Consider replacing the light fixture closest to your car with a motion detector unit. Motion detectors are psychological deterrents because the light coming on makes people think that they have been seen. The light also makes the prowler more visible.