We have had enough. As founders of a new grassroots organization in Clark County, we are appalled by the recent spike in property crime. It has turned our homes, driveways, garages, and shops into targets for brazen criminals.
We have had it with thefts of catalytic converters and of our cars. These crimes put our families in danger, cost businesses, and destroy our sense of well-being.
Every day, we hear that our neighbors have witnessed shoplifters calmly exiting stores with stolen goods, while we lawfully pay high prices. When our kids see this brazen disregard for the law, what message does that send them?
We are taking action against this collapse in respect for the law. The status quo — in which state laws protect criminals but leave victims of crime unprotected — is dangerous. These criminals carry knives and guns and are mercilessly opportunistic. Innocent victims have already died.
We are now reaching out throughout our region because we know we are not alone in our concerns. We must unite now to rescue our lawful society.
Our organization is called Clark County Public Safety Alliance. The alliance’s Facebook page can be found at facebook.com/ccpublicsafe
tyalliance. There, we provide statistics establishing that property crime has risen. As of 2020, Washington had the fourth highest property crime rate in the U.S., but statistics alone cannot explain the growing empowerment of the criminals in our once-peaceful neighborhoods.
Our town hall on Jan. 12 aimed to get answers. It drew 300 participants to Zoom including over 20 Vancouver businesses and dozens of concerned individuals. The Vancouver Downtown Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Building Industry Association, and the Clark County Realtor Association were represented.
First, Jill Brown, widow of slain Clark County Sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Brown and now full-time advocate for public safety, spoke softly but with unique authority about the role HB 1310, a 2021 bill restricting probable cause, played into her husband’s death at the hands of known criminals. “If the car had been pulled over … the guns would likely have been retrieved … and my husband would still be here with us today.”
We then sought advice from Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins, Vancouver Police Chief James McElvain, and Prosecutor Tony Golik, among others. Our state legislators of both parties commented.
We learned that our aging jail is severely inadequate, leading to many criminals avoiding incarceration. But even more important, we learned that our county and state have the lowest levels of law enforcement staffing in the U.S., and that, despite signing bonuses as high as $25,000, recruitment and retention are lagging.
At the issue’s heart is recent state legislation — as many as a dozen bills — that restrict law enforcement from taking effective actions to stop and punish criminal behavior. The criminals have caught on.
The free-for-all must end. Our cities must cite criminals for misdemeanors and hold them accountable for their actions.
Legislative rebalancing is now being discussed in Olympia. According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs spokesman Steven Strachan, the requirements of reform must be, first, “a definition of use of force which is usable and clear; second, allowing for reasonable suspicion and investigative detentions; and, third, a ‘balancing test’ that while still restricting pursuits,” also provides for a rare needed pursuit.
“Currently, the blanket prohibition on pursuits is sending the message that leads to brazen contempt for the law,” writes Strachan.
Law enforcement officers are also concerned about decertification while performing their jobs.
On Feb. 8, Strachan reported that “three bills we support, SB 5919, HB 2037, and HB 1788 were all passed out of committee.” It’s a good start.
Let’s all urge the state’s legislators to make these changes in the current session.
Michele Rudi and Ann
Donnelly, founders of Clark County Public Safety Alliance,
Vancouver
