This week, City of Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen gave a State of the City address, extolling the many accomplishments of the council. One thing she won’t be able to tell her audience is that Kirkland is a safe community.

I live in the West of Market neighborhood. Over the last four years, on three separate occasions, my family had our locked house broken into and ransacked, with electronics and jewelry stolen, our locked garden shed broken into and most recently, our locked car broken into while parked front of our house.

If you think it’s just bad luck, on our same street, one neighbor had her car stolen off the street. Her house had a window broken when someone tried to break in as well. Another neighbor had their garage broken into and someone tried to steal their car. This crime activity occurred on a single block. If council thinks that crime rates are low, it is because people are not making out police reports after property crimes have been committed.

If you believe that Kirkland is a safe community you are wrong. Under reporting of crime makes the crime rates look favorable. Public safety should be the Kirkland council’s number one priority and this council is failing our community. You can blame the crime on the opiate drug explosion or organized gang activity, but this City Council and city manager have made conscious budget choices that impacted public safety. The council cut the Pro-Act program during regular budgeting only to reinstate it after crime has spiked.

This is not a new leadership issue with Police Chief Harris. Kirkland police are losing officers to other jurisdictions who pay more and Kirkland is having a difficult time recruiting because of the pay scale Kirkland offers. This council has other spending priorities. There is always funding to pay for consultants, studies and more recently an expensive city hall renovation.

How about spending those tax dollars on hiring more police? How about more officers patrolling our neighborhoods and paying competitive wages so you can attract new police recruits?

I would like to believe that if the city council had their house burglarized, their car broken into, personal items stolen, then they would take property crime more seriously and they would understand why our family has lost any sense of security living in Kirkland. It’s odd to look in your driveway each morning and wonder if your car will still be there, or wonder if your house is safe after you leave it for any period of time. We have an alarm system, security lights, motion lights and we have fortified our house, which is all we can do.

What the city council and city manager need to do is take crime seriously and make an effort to protect Kirkland citizens. Kirkland deserves better.

Patrick Harris,

Kirkland