During the day, a popular park in Seattle's Capitol Hill is full of family-fueled action. Once the sun sets, however, a different kind of activity takes over — crime.
In fact, night crime surrounding Cal Anderson park has gotten so bad that police are requesting that the city keep the park's lights on to deter criminal activity.
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"It's frustrating because when I walk the puppy we can't walk here anymore,” said Zeke Miller, who lives a block away from the park. “After a certain time we have to stop."
Like Miller, many of the area's residents don't feel comfortable leaving their homes after dark. So in response, the city has decided to keep the park lit until 2:30 a.m. for the next two weekends.
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The Seattle police department has previously asked Cal Anderson to keep its lights on; last fall the park lights were left on all night. And according to Drew Fowler of the department, "Leaving the lights on in Cal Anderson has proven effective in the past."
Yet, as local news station KIRO 7 has reported, there were nearly the exact number of police reports filed the week before the continuous lighting as there were during it.
This time, the city hopes that any amount of light is better than none.
