North Seattle families concerned about increased crime in the area believe a tiny house village is to blame.
There has been an uptick in crime and 911 calls in the neighborhood since the Lichton Springs Village was established a year ago, according to Seattle Police statistics. Since then, families said they've seen the homeless camp attract suspicious activity.
About 60 people live in the low-barrier camp at Aurora Avenue North and North 87th Street. The village, which is one of six tiny house camps in the city, serves people who wouldn't normally qualify for a shelter because of sobriety issues.
“I don't want to be viewed as not trying to help the homeless, but I think that enabling certain habits such as using drugs, helps them dig their graves faster,” said Amber Matthai, a data scientist who lives nearby. “I don't want to see people end up like my father who has irreversible mental illness from drug use.”
Matthai said she took a closer look at statistics from Seattle Police and said the data is flawed, showing several duplicate crimes. She's worried that it compromises the integrity of all Seattle Police data on these kinds of camps.
Seattle Police are reviewing the issue and are working with Matthai and others to correct any mistakes. However, police claim the stats available online to the public don't accurately represent the numbers Seattle Police keeps in its official records, which they believe are correct.
