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Community asked to help make Seaside safer

Concerns over crime and gang activity continue in Seaside. There are plenty of ideas to help Seaside’s violence prevention task force. On Sunday, News Channel 5 spoke with community members on how they do their part. The effort follows an uptick in crime at the beginning of the year in Seaside.

Robert Sommer, a deacon at Episcopal church, said he and city officials sat down to figure out what to do about the rise in crime.

“The violence is, its really a community problem. It’s not necessarily a policing problem, it is really a problem in our community and how we get involved to end the violence,” Sommer said.

Sommer works with the city’s youth and said he and 50 others walked the streets of Seaside last Wednesday with posters reading “no violence,” or “love Seaside,” to show the community that they are taking a stand for the better.

Residents are being asked to share their views through an online survey to tell the city what they think would make Seaside safer.

The survey can be taken anonymously and asks questions like “how safe do you feel in Seaside at night?”

Ryan Olsen, a Seaside resident for about four years, said he’s experienced a shooting right on the corner from where he lives. Violent crimes, drugs and gangs are all concerns for him and his family.

“I’ve got my young girls and you want to make sure that things are safe for them and you never like that when its in your community that’s for sure,” Olsen said.

“There’s been a lot of gang activity going on. I mean that’s not new everybody knows that, and the question is how do we get involved and so the city is asking people to get involved,” said Sommer.

Sommer said they plan to walk through Seaside’s tougher areas at least once a week to bring more community awareness. The public is welcome to accompany him.

Community members are invited to help the city’s violence prevention task force by contributing their ideas at the two community planning meetings. The first will be hosted 6:30 p.m., Feb. 26 and 10 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Oldemeyer Center.

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