Ongoing property crime and its link to drug use have spurred community leaders to plan a public meeting in Langley next week.
Organized by Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, the meeting will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at the South Whidbey High School Commons, 5675 Maxwelton Road.
Planning for the event began earlier this month in the wake of a seemingly never-ending series of burglaries, which is often attributed to increasing drug use. The problems have been a source of community-wide grumbling for about a year, but concerns have accelerated in recent months following the burglaries of several prominent businesses.
“Over the last month, it’s in about every conversation — at the grocery store, the hardware store — so I felt the time was right [for a community meeting],” Price Johnson said.
Shortly after planning for the meeting began, an armed robber hit Wells Fargo Bank in Clinton and stole a teller’s car. The suspect remains at large.
The meeting is designed to inform the public about what’s being done about the problems, which are not specific to South Whidbey. Burglaries and drug use are a county-wide problem, Price Johnson said.
Island County Sheriff Mark Brown is also expected to attend. Currently out of state on vacation, he said in a telephone interview Thursday he felt the community meeting and the education it might provide is an important step in fighting crime.
“The more we communicate, the better the system works,” Brown said.
Coincidentally, Brown said he was already scheduled to attend another community meeting on South Whidbey this month when Price Johnson organized the one set for next week. Also open to the public, it’s planned for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Woodland Hall in Maxwelton. According to Brown, its focus is property crime, namely the ongoing burglaries across the South End and Island County.
Next week’s meeting will address property crime as well, but specifically discuss its relationship to drug addiction. Brown said there is a connection between the two, but that it’s not yet certain whether it’s also at the root of more serious crime.
“Certainly property crime is related to drugs, there’s no doubt about that… but whether it’s specific to the robbery, I don’t know that to be the case,” he said.
Information on chemical dependency programs and other resources will be presented for families struggling with addiction. Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy, who is also chairman of the recently formed Island County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, will speak on the topic.
People are frustrated with the ongoing problems, and the meeting will be a good way to “channel that energy” and get the community to work together to prevent crime with vigilance and communication, McCarthy said.
Price Johnson agreed, saying government simply lacks the resources to do everything itself. Community assistance is a must, she said.
“To be successful, we’re going to have to pull together,” Price Johnson said.
