Residents Want Solutions To Crime Spree Harrison-Area People Fed Up With Two-Week String Of Thefts

Dozens of people fed up with the sheriff’s department and a rise in crime on the lake’s east side gathered Monday night to brainstorm solutions.

Tens of thousands of dollars have been stolen during the past two weeks from people who live along Highway 97 near Harrison. At least 10 home and car burglaries have been reported during that period from Carlin Bay to Harrison, according to Kootenai County sheriff’s reports.

“Until we decide to do something about it and make some changes it’s not going to stop,” said resident Mike Lukasiak, a retired Los Angeles police officer.

Furniture, appliances, cars and guns are among the stolen items. Cabins on Lake Coeur d’Alene used as weekend and vacation homes have been particularly hard hit.

Those who attended the hastily called gathering at a Camp N-Sid-Sen meeting hall tossed out several ideas for stopping the surge in crime. Among them were establishing neighborhood watch programs and a phone tree to alert neighbors of crimes, and getting to know each other better.

Dozens of people listed their name on a sign-up sheet passed around the room.

“We as a community have to know who our neighbors are,” Lukasiak said. “We have to look around.”

Jim Stephens, another retired Los Angeles officer who has moved to the Harrison area, encouraged residents to meticulously log serial numbers on their valuables.

Discussions were not always so focussed on solutions, however.

Several people vented frustrations over the lack of response from sheriff’s deputies.

They said they loathed having to make burglary reports over the phone and were tired of being told by dispatchers that no deputy was available to respond.

Lukasiak talked about two incidents he said were particularly disheartening. Both involved people who’d been burglarized and were either detaining or watching the suspected thieves.

Dispatchers sent a deputy in only one of the incidents after a man threatened to take armed family members with him to retrieve a $60,000 back hoe that had been stolen.

“Generally, people here are not happy with the response,” Lukasiak said. “We’re wondering at what point do we have to take things into our own hands?”

In the end, most agreed that it was up to the community to organize and protect itself.

“It’s going to be people watching people,” one woman said.

Lt. Nile Shirley, one of three Kootenai County sheriff’s detectives who attended the meeting, agreed.

“What you’re doing here is a good thing,” Shirley said.

He encouraged residents to become more aware of their surroundings and take an active role in policing their neighborhoods.

Shirley also assured the 60 or so people who attended that their complaints were being heard.

“It doesn’t end with a report that goes into our office,” Shirley said. “We do follow-ups on it. We do work on it.”

Shirley said the Harrison cases are among the 2,800 countywide that have been assigned to the department’s seven detectives so far this year. Currently, 89 cases are being actively investigated, he said.

Residents plan another meeting Sunday at 1 p.m. to talk about how to implement the proposed solutions.

Shirley encouraged their continued participation, but advised them to be sensible.

“For heaven sakes be cautious what you do,” Shirley said. “Get involved but don’t get so involved that you get yourselves hurt.”

, DataTimes