There's an early edition of my Tacoma Avenue meeting story after the jump:

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By Scott Fontaine
The News Tribune

Patrick Burr has lived near Tacoma Avenue South for nine years and has witnessed the neighborhood grapple with waves of crime.

“I’ve seen it go full-circle,” he said. “I’ve seen it bad. When the development started, there was a wave of police activity in the area and it cleaned up. Then it trickled back to the way it is now.”

He said the newest wave seems more intimidating because criminals seem older and more hardened. He wants them out of the area. So do other neighbors who attended an organizing meeting Tuesday afternoon. The gathering of about 30 people connected residents, business owners and apartment managers with police and city officials.

The area, nestled between downtown and the Stadium District, is a designated target of the city’s Community Based Services program, which concentrates police and city services and links neighborhood organizations and public officials. And although police statistics show a drop in calls for service this year in the Tacoma Avenue area – a 40-block zone from Sixth Avenue North to South 25th Street and Fawcett Avenue and South G Street – residents still see crime as a problem.

The Pierce County Jail at the corner of South Ninth Street and Tacoma Avenue is a contributing factor to crime in the area, said Greg Hopkins, a community liaison police officer. The 1,465-bed facility is at or over capacity, and offenders are often released immediately after being booked.

Hopkins and Carol Wolfe, a community development specialist with the City of Tacoma, briefed the residents about what they could do to combat the problem. Solutions included calling in criminal activity, installing crime-deterring environmental design and holding neighborhood marches.

“I think some of us were expecting one or two simple solutions to fix it,” said resident Holly Minniti, who organized the meeting. “We’re not going to get that. It’s a long-term solution. ...We’re going to have to all commit to fixing this. There won’t be a magician to sweep in and fix it. It’s going to come from us.”

Another answer to the crime problem is what helped galvanize neighborhood sentiment for organization: digital photography and videography. A YouTube channel, StopCrimeOnTacomaAve, offers videos of apparent prostitution and drug deals. Hopkins said residents across the city send him digital photos and videos of apparent criminal activity, and they have been useful in arrests.
The meeting finished on an upbeat tone. Plans are in the works for a follow-up meeting. Hopkins likened the groundswell to the activism that helped clean up the Hilltop and McKinley Hill neighborhoods.

“I can guarantee we’re going to beat this down,” Hopkins said. “But I can also guarantee that unless we make some changes in the system, we’ll be back here again.”