Kent Police say residents should call 911 more often

Kent Police want more residents to call 911 whenever they see something that “just doesn’t feel or look right.”

If a vehicle or person in a neighborhood looks suspicious, call 911 so officers can check out the report and see if there might be a connection to a burglary, vehicle prowl or some other criminal activity.

“If it just doesn’t feel or look right,” said Kent Police spokesman Pat Lowery about when to call 911. “There are concerns about taxing the system unnecessarily. People are gun-shy about using 911 unless there is physical impact. A lot of people perceive it’s an inconvenience to police or fire unless there are flames coming out of a window or a burglar at a window.”

But even what might seem like a small detail could help police bust a burglar or car prowler if people call 911 right away. Lately, police have come across too many residents who failed to call.

“We had a residential break-in last week when a homeowner and a neighbor saw a vehicle they didn’t recognize but neither called 911,” Lowery said. “The home was broken into when they were away.”

Officers figure that whoever had that vehicle very likely broke into the home.

Police started to notice in early 2011 an increase in crimes in residential areas. But crime analysis reports did not show a corresponding increase in  calls about suspicious activity or vehicles.

When officers started to canvass neighborhoods, they discovered residents had seen suspicious vehicles or people but didn’t bother to call 911.

“They thought they were bothering police or figured they would call at a later time,” Lowery said.

Officers prefer to be the ones to decide whether some detail could be important or not.

“We want to get the message out that no piece of information is inconsequential to not call or delay in calling,” Lowery said. “We know when people call as they see an event the likelihood to resolve the crime is much, much higher.”

One resident helped police when he took a cellphone photo of a suspicious vehicle, including the license plate number.

Police were able to track down the owner of the vehicle, discovered a connection to several burglaries and recovered a bunch of stolen property.

“There is a direct correlation with the time of reporting and our ability to solve crimes,” Lowery said.

Sometimes people call friends or others about activities when they should call 911.

“We have had several incidents in which neighbors say they see something suspicious and don’t call 911,” said Stacy Judd, Kent Police public education specialist, in an email. “What they may do instead is let their block watch captain know, or after a residential burglary or other crime has occurred, then report it to the police.”

Judd said public education staff tries to stress the importance of calling 911.

“We continually emphasize this with our communication to the block watch, apartment and business contacts, but it would be great to get that message out to the greater public,” Judd said.

Lowery said the Valley Communications Center in Kent is set up to handle a large volume of 911 calls.

“Even at peak demand, they have the staff,” he said. “They screen calls and if the call is not an emergency and does not need a responder, they can get the caller plugged in with online reporting or to the police station.”

People should not call 911 for directions if they are lost while driving or to report a theft that happened a day or week earlier. Harassing phone calls, identity theft, lost property, theft, hit and run, theft from a vehicle and vandalism can be reported online at www.ci.kent.wa.us/Police/.

If residents see someone in their neighborhood who claims to be a sales person but might not be, they can call 911 and officers will come out to make sure people have a legitimate reason to be in the area.

“We’d prefer they call and the suspicion turns out to be nothing than they not call at all,” Lowery said.