FORKS — Crime statistics have fallen slightly in the past three years, and Neighborhood Watch programs are much of the reason, Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said Wednesday.
Without giving specific numbers, Benedict told about 30 people at a Forks Chamber of Commerce luncheon that crime has decreased slightly statewide, countywide and in Forks.
However, while Clallam County’s crime statistics overall are routinely below the state average by about 10 percent or more, those for the city of Forks tend to be equal to, or above, the state average, he said.
In isolated areas, neighbors watching out for each other is the best way to attack crime, the sheriff said.
“That is really the key to making my job work well,” he said.
“Really, I wish that I could work myself out of a job and so there wouldn’t be any crime to deal with.
“But the key to doing that is to empower the citizens to fight the crime.”
Many crimes are crimes of opportunity, “so making people less vulnerable is the key.
Car thefts
“Car thefts, for example, would all but disappear in the state of Washington if people would lock their cars — and for goodness sake, take the keys out of the ignition.
“I hate to say it, but in 40 to 50 percent of cases the keys are either in the ignition or are right there under the floormat.”
Benedict also touted the benefits of the Map Your Neighborhood program, which not only creates awareness and cooperation among neighbors, but also encourages people to make plans for a large emergency.
“We rely on six bridges to get our supplies to the Peninsula,” he said.
“The big impetus of what we’re telling people is that they need to have two weeks of groceries on hand, and be able to have a plan for that situation, because emergency responders will only be able to deal with the most needy and injured.”
He also applauded his team of West End deputies, specifically citing Deputy Bill Cortani, who is based in Forks who, although wounded in a shootout, held a man at gunpoint until backup assistance arrived.
The deputy was shot in the arm and hip while investigating a trespassing complaint at a cabin near Milepost 7 on state Highway 112 near Sekiu in January 2009.
He shot Scott Lincoln Davis in the stomach and left arm.
Both men were treated at Harbroview Medical Center in Seattle.
Davis remains in custody at the Clallam County jail on $500,000 bail awaiting a May 3 trial on charges of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Deputy receives medal
Cortani received the National Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor and Purple Heart in May, the 2009 Washington Council of Police and Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in January, and was named officer of the month for January by the television show “Washington’s Most Wanted.”
Benedict said that the West End, an expansive area with isolated communities, often poses unique problems, such as calling for backup in Cortani’s case.
“Because the area was isolated, and we had two dispatch centers to deal with, backup took about a half-hour to arrive, and Cortani was injured and held him basically at gunpoint until the backup could arrive,” Benedict said.
“He is one tough guy.
“If we had let him, he would have come back the next week — but we sent him home until a month later his wife told us we had to let him come back because he was driving her crazy.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
