Seattle's East Precinct sees surge in arson, assaults and burglaries

SEATTLE — Newly released numbers show that crime is up nearly across the board in Seattle's East Precinct, where much of the protest activity has been centered.

Some people who live or work in the Capitol Hill area worry it’s going from bad to worse. And it’s not just vandalism. Everything from arson to assaults to burglaries have seen significant increases compared to last year.

John McDermott owns a business just blocks from the police department’s East Precinct headquarters and said his property got defaced again earlier this week.

“With all the decay that's going on around here and all the crime that's rising, why cut my fence down and jump up and paint on my billboard," he said.

The new commander of the East Precinct released statistics this week that show a 10 percent jump in overall crime so far this year compared to 2019.

Property crimes lead the way with an 11 percent increase. Violent crimes shot up 9 percent. That, combined with ongoing protests, has some residents on the run.

“There are still neighbors in my building that haven't returned. The people below me moved out too,” said Matthew Ploszaj, who lives near Cal Anderson Park.

McDermott said it's even more distressing city councilmembers who once called to beef up the police department may now cut it to the bone.

“It's mindboggling that they can do a flip flop, and they can defund the police department, and they can expect to maintain public safety,” McDermott said.

The precinct commander saids there has been a drop in some crime categories in recent weeks but aggravated assaults climbed 74 percent, auto thefts jumped 57 percent and burglaries are up 29 percent.

“I am very disturbed and bummed and upset about it," Ploszaj said.

The East Precinct is also tracking an explosion of arson. There have been seven reported arsons so far, compared to zero last year. The numbers are up citywide as well. The arson/bomb squad has been asked to do a deeper dive to find out if there is a larger trend.

Among the crime categories that actually dropped, rapes are down 40 percent and theft has fallen 8 percent, compared to last year.