Theft in the Neighborhood.

Bellingham’s second oldest neighborhood has been experiencing a small number of misbehaving individuals.  Theft has been a small problem in the area recently.

                Nearby resident Brenda Gray said that her bike was stolen Saturday, April 23.  The LeMond road-bike was blue with yellow highlights and affectionately nicknamed “Lemon.”  It was stolen out of her backyard.  “I think it’s because the economy is so bad, people are desperate,” she said.  Gray also elaborated that she loves this area and said that the stealing of the bike won’t have any long-term effects on the way she lives her life.  “I think I won’t leave things in my backyard at the moment but I may forget in three months,” Gray said with a smile. 

                There are several block watches in effect in the Columbia Neighborhood.  People in the past have gone for walks and greeted others with a smile, if they saw something suspicious they would call the police.  “If you go patrol do it by being friendly and not being nasty,” said Flip Breskin, resident of Columbia Neighborhood. Flip set up a listserv as a way of keeping neighbors informed about the issues in the neighborhood.  Her e-mail list also includes the police department.  Just last month she was able to aid in getting a student his bike back that had been stolen and found at Elizabeth Park by the tennis courts.  “That’s what is supposed to happen in a neighborhood,” she stated.  Her belief is that the more people know each other the less crime there is.

                The community feel of the Columbia Neighborhood is appealing for Flip.   She purposefully moved to the area in 1999 because she wanted to live where her neighbors were involved and she could get involved in the community as well.  “There are always going to be people misbehaving,” she said.  

                Residents can request extra patrolling by police if they can show that the number of crimes has risen in their neighborhood recently.  “I am not aware of extra patrols, said Flip, but in fact the police don’t have enough eyes to do that work, so it’s up to the neighbors.”

  “I don’t think it would stop it,” said Gray about the extra patrolling. 

  In a residential neighborhood of about 1,700 homes, this kind of thing is going to happen. “I guess I think it’s someone who knows the area,” said Gray.

                In Bellingham as a whole, theft has decreased since 2007.  After jumping a bit in 2009, in 2010 the numbers of reported theft have hit a low.  As a member of the community and a neighbor a good way to keep your neighborhood safe is to report any suspicious activity that may be observed.

There has been nine reported instances of thefts alone in the Columbia neighborhood in April, the most that have occurred so far in one month this year.  Last year most thefts were reported in May according to the city of Bellingham website.  In May of 2010 there were 20 reported instances of theft.  Luckily for Columbia residents, the theft trend has been steadily decreasing over the last four years.  It’s generally considered normal for the numbers to spike once the weather starts getting nicer.