As a string of car prowls, thefts and home invasions have impacted the north end of Vashon, islanders Nancy Wolff and Susan McCabe have assisted their fellow neighbors in setting up a neighborhood watch in their area.

The north end of the island has been impacted by crime in recent months, with islanders on the north end having cars stolen and their homes broken into.

Wolff herself has had personal experience with crime in the area, as her home was broken into Dec. 29, 2021, and items were taken, including Christmas gifts, a watch she had given her husband, and her purse which contained her car keys.

When Wolff stepped outside her home, she saw that her 2019 Honda CRV was gone and that her husband’s car had been broken into and ransacked. She reported the theft and burglary to the King County’s Sheriff’s Department. As of the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 5, Wolff was contacted by the Kent Police Department, who notified her that her vehicle had been located in a strip mall off Pacific Highway in Kent.

As of Friday, Feb 18, Wolff told The Beachcomber that the King County Sheriff’s Department had said there was “no actionable evidence” in regards to her case.

Jim and Jude Boardman, fellow residents of the north end, were also affected by a break-in to their home on Saturday, Jan. 29 at around 2 A.M. while they were asleep.

According to Jim Boardman, the couple was alerted of intruders in their home by one of their cats, Nod. While Boardman didn’t see the intruders, he did note that keys to his Tesla and his wife, Jude’s, raccoon fur coat were stolen.

A few days later, Boardman’s daughter-in-law texted him a Facebook post from Dinah Helgeson, which included video footage of a prowler outside Helgeson’s home on SW Bachelor Road. When Boardman looked at the footage, he was surprised to see the prowler wearing his wife’s stolen fur coat.

“There’s a two-second piece where that prowler is facing the camera. I stopped that there and I have a very recent picture when we had our snow days,” said Boardman. “Jude and I went out for a walk, and she was wearing her coat, and I took a great picture of her….I sent that picture to the Sheriff because you can look at that, and it’s the same coat.”

According to Boardman, he has received “zero” response from the King County Sheriff.

As of late December, Wolff and McCabe decided to organize their neighbors and put together a neighborhood watch following the events that had occurred on the north end. For McCabe, a friend of Wolff’s, she was especially shocked and scared to have heard what happened to her friend regarding the recent break-in and car theft.

“The antidote to that fear is action,” said McCabe.

The entire process to organize the neighborhood watch took about 30 days, said Wolff. Initially, they met quite frequently and divided the neighborhood into 11 “zones.”

Since the neighborhood watch couldn’t be entirely managed by Wolff and McCabe alone, the duo recruited “Zone Captains” for each of the 11 zones. Altogether, there are currently 130 households in the north end neighborhood watch. The watch will soon be adding a 12th zone as well.

Zone Captains are also looking to order signage for the neighborhood from the National Neighborhood Watch Institute and are planning to make a decision regarding signage for the neighborhood at their next meeting on March 5.

In the event of a crime in their neighborhood, an affected household should immediately call 911, said Wolff and McCabe. Zones have also set up what Wolff and McCabe refer to as “text streams.”

“After calling 911, they might send a text to all the folks in their zone so they’re aware of what’s happening, and they can basically stay in their houses,” said McCabe.

Zone Captains also have their own text stream and can alert their fellow Captains if a crime occurs in the neighborhood, said Wolff.

“If something’s happening in Susan’s zone, and she wants to warn us because her zone is right next to mine, then they send out a text stream to all of the captains, so they know something is going on in the neighborhood,” she said.

In addition to the neighborhood watch, McCabe has been working with the King County Sheriff’s Department to see if extra coverage can be sent to Vashon, “particularly for a very vulnerable north end,” considering recent events and the neighborhood’s proximity to the north end ferry dock. McCabe has also contacted King County Councilmember Joe McDermott regarding issues of crime on Vashon.

Wolff has also spoken with the King County Sheriff’s Department, who told her that there there are enough people to create a forum to do letter-writing campaigns to bring more attention to crime on Vashon. However, Wolff believes it is legislators and elected officials who may be able to bring the most support.

“The issue is, writing the Sheriff’s department is probably not going to get us anything, because the Sheriff’s department, they’re charged with enforcing the law…it is letter writing to legislators and elected officials that’ll probably get us the most [help],” said Wolff.

Overall, the neighborhood watch response has been “tremendous,” said McCabe, and neighbors have been responding well.

Wolff also stressed that the north end neighborhood watch is not about vigilantism, but rather is about educating neighbors.

“This is about education, increasing awareness, increasing people’s ability to make themselves safe,” said Wolff.

While Wolff admitted there is an increase in crime, it is minimal compared to other areas.

“This is a fabulous place to live,” said Wolff. “We just need to take care of each other.”