Lake City Condo Building Burglaries Continue, Residents In Fear

The Start of Condo Building Burglaries

A condo building in Lake City has been experiencing a string of burglaries as of late. One resident, Zachary, told local news that the thieves had been prying the fire door open before coming up a hallway. The thieves gain access to the residents’ mail by opening that one door.

The burglaries have affected a total of 54 owners thus far. When the burglaries became more frequent, residents resorted to taking out their mail daily.

But, it did not stop with just mail. The thieves then began breaking into the residents’ vehicles and storage units. They are even attempting to access secure lock boxes containing keys to the whole building, making residents feel even more fearful.

Police Reports were Filed, and Security Cameras Installed

As a way to catch the thieves, residents installed security cameras using money from their own pockets. They also had to make the repairs on their own.

The security cameras managed to capture the thieves. Residents have filed multiple police reports, but they are still waiting on the police to take action. One resident estimates that four residents have filed at least 30 police reports already. Due to the burglaries make residents no longer feel safe in their homes.

While they identified a man that the cameras captured, residents were turned away. “They told us to go home and that there is no police officer to come and investigate,” said Rachel.

Local Police Trying to Catch Up

The Seattle Police Department has struggled to catch up due to a lack of manpower.

Since 2020, the police department has lost 525 officers and experienced a 30% decrease in detectives that could do follow-up investigations. As a result, the department is falling behind on addressing property crimes as it prioritizes violent crimes, which shot up in 2022.

Still, the SPD works quickly and effectively to get to all cases. It may not be fast enough for the residents at the Lake City condo building.