South Center Mall -Tukwila Car theft and break ins (Seattle: rental car, 2013)

[CoastieTX]

Can I offer a few suggestions? In descending order of effectiveness:

1. The best places to park are at the perimeter of the parking lot, facing outwards, towards incoming traffic which "T" off at a three way stop. You want to park facing the incoming mall traffic which is forced to stop and make a left or right at the "T."

It doesn't matter how close to the front of the mall or businesses you park if your car is among the sea of car rows. Thieves use teamwork with lookouts and rows of parked cars give them nothing but hiding places to do their work and retreat. Parking at the top of a three way "T" intersection ensures the thieves cannot hide out of sight from the steady stream of incoming mall traffic and, at night, their headlights.

2. Never, ever, leave anything in sight and if you haven't done so, empty your glove box and all consoles and leave them open so it's obvious there is nothing to take.

3. Get rid of the tint on your windows; you want prowlers to know instantly at a glance there's nothing to take so they move on.

It's amazing that every time I go to our mall, I get my preferred parking spots because everybody else only thinks of the shortest walk to the entrance. I hate thieves, they're pimples on the arse of society, but sometimes you have to think like them to beat them.

[nhdriver]

That area is such a poop hole. It's bad down there...remember the shooting from few years ago? I believe several gang-related incidents all seem to happen at the mall aside from heading down towards Tacoma. Sorry to hear about your car. What a bunch of scums!

[cstoner]

Ugh, I used to work at Bahama Breeze and I can't tell you how many of my coworkers cars would get stolen during their shifts. It broke my heart and stressed me out walking to my car each night. I'm SO glad to be out of the restaurant industry for good and OUT OF TUKWILA! I'm sorry to hear about your car...did you at least try the delicious mac n cheese at famous dave's?

[Hemlock140]

What's at Southcenter that you can't find at Bellevue Square or the Supermall in Auburn? Last time we were there was when the Rainforest Cafe first opened and we took the kids (now in their 20s). Despite a shooting or two a year there I wouldn't really be afraid there, at least during the day, but you have a real good chance of a car theft or damage due to breakin even if nothing is in it worth stealing. Below is the latest data I could find but it seems to be worse since then:


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Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[secret_squirrel]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

What's at Southcenter that you can't find at Bellevue Square or the Supermall in Auburn? Last time we were there was when the Rainforest Cafe first opened and we took the kids (now in their 20s). Despite a shooting or two a year there I wouldn't really be afraid there, at least during the day, but you have a real good chance of a car theft or damage due to breakin even if nothing is in it worth stealing. Below is the latest data I could find but it seems to be worse since then:

What a great graph. Really makes Tukwila look like a pit.

I hear what the officer is saying about the challenges of 18k residents vs. 100k visitors and government is complicated, but Tukwila does get 3% of the 9.5% sales tax rate on all those visitor purchases. That has to add up to a little something. It's not like the visitors aren't contributing anything to the tax base.

[MaikeerinWA]

Congrats to Tukwila for ranking no. 1 - in crime.

Washington's worst and best cities for crime - seattlepi.com

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by MichaelinWA

Congrats to Tukwila for ranking no. 1 - in crime.

Washington's worst and best cities for crime - seattlepi.com

Great link, Michael. Renton didn't even crack the top ten in the state for crime, but Gig Harbor did.
Duvall was listed as the least crime ridden in King County, with Sammamish the second safest in the county. But Tukwila not only has property crime, they've got violent crime too. Ya think their Chamber of Commerce mentions that? " Visit Tukwila. You probably won't get robbed or beaten up."

[usernametaken]

Greenlake public lots are also a danger zone when it comes to car break-ins and have been so for years per google. See my old thread:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...ke-beware.html

I wonder why cops do not arrest these people via some tricks since the same areas have had these problems for years.

[mrhuffles]

...Apologies to pigs everywhere.

I understand the mall has been renovated since I left Seattle, but I happily lived atop QA hill nearly a decade and made the conscious choice never to set foot in that mall on the rare occasions I ventured down Southcenter way. I hate malls anyway, but that one was always a pit. Crime and trouble. Plus ça change...

[Flightoficarus87]

Tukwila around the South Center area (And really, Tukwila in general) isn't exactly the best city in western WA when it comes to property crime rates. Thieves are attracted to the area, because it's basically one giant shopping town where they have a chance of scoring stuff people just bought.

NEVER leave anything out in plain view in your car in general, but especially around South Center. The backpack might not have had anything special in it, but the thief probably thought they'd find a nice laptop or something in it - And they don't know there's nothing in it until they break in to find out. At the least, it's best to leave any valuables out of sight while in the area - Preferably keep them with you or leave them at home.