By Alexis Mansanarez

UW News Lab

On the corner of 356th Street and 18th Avenue Southwest is a park bench, tucked between flourishing bushes near a stop sign with its base covered in flowers, candles and balloons swaying back and forth.

A placard on the bench reads, “In loving memory of Adam Edward Gutierrez.”

Gutierrez, 30, was walking his dog, Luna, when he was gunned down on that street corner May 10, becoming the last of three victims of gun violence within a 48-hour period in Federal Way.

Prior to those two days in May, 16-year-old Wesley Gennings and Jeffrey G. McLaren, 19, were also shot and killed in January and April, respectively.

Three more people have died from gun violence since then — a 24-year-old man, whose identity has not been released by the Federal Way Police Department, 33-year-old Tabitha M. Apling and 33-year-old Denis Sloboda.

These murders have already doubled the city’s average homicide rate (it’s usually four to five annually), according to Police Chief Andy Hwang. In the latest annual FBI crime report, which details both violent and domestic crime in 2015, the rate of violent crimes in Federal Way also saw a jump, specifically in robberies and aggravated assaults.

But Hwang said these statistics don’t mean Federal Way is trending for the worse. Rather, he describes the increase as “an anomaly” that is part of the natural cycle of crime.

“It’s very important when you look at crime that you don’t look at a moment in time, or even a year, because somebody might say ‘Oh my gosh, what is going on?’ But there is a good likelihood the number will go down the following year,” Hwang said.

Federal Way has seen a 5 percent decrease in all crime from 2014 to 2015, and is down 6 percent overall since 2013.

Prior to this year, homicides had been trending down in Federal Way for a couple of years. In 2015 there were a total of four murders, and in 2014 another four. However, this is a decrease from the six in 2013.

Federal Way remains less violent than neighboring Tacoma, which has averaged just under 12 murders since 2013. While Federal Way’s rates for 2016 may still rise, typically the number of violent homicides are far lower than its neighboring city.

Kent, however, remains slightly safer, with an average of a three homicides per year, but the city has seen an increase in homicides over the years.

While Federal Way hasn’t seen numbers as low as Kent’s in more than six years, that doesn’t mean crime rates in the community will continue.

“Crime can easily go back and forth for various reasons and if it continues to go down at some point it has to come up,” Hwang said.

Working to keep communities like Federal Way safe takes all parts of the city — government officials, aid workers, teachers — working together, Federal Way City Councilman Martin Moore said.

Hwang concurred, saying that all organizations in the city have a role to play.

“It’s a systems approach,” he said. “For example, we partner with other government agencies, different schools other police departments; social agencies play a role, faith communities, nonprofit organizations, the local newspaper, everyone working together makes the community safe.”

The systems approach has worked to reduce other types of crime in recent years, Hwang said.

In 2015, there was a significant decrease in property crime. Burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft have all decreased substantially, even with the community numbers growing.

With more of an effort made by the police department to increase the police presence in high crime areas, the police department continues to work with the community to reduce crime.

An increase of community awareness as well as the continued partnerships between the neighborhoods and police have played a substantial role in decreasing property crimes in Federal Way over the last year.

While it is important to remember that these rates are constantly fluctuating, the Federal Way Police Department has had success in combating the lesser crimes that affect the community.

“Crime has definitely become more of an concern for all of us, not just to the citizens but all of us,” Moore said. “There’s something wrong when there are three shootings within 48 hours, that’s a problem.”

The city is continuing to build a more visible police presence in areas where crime is likely to occur, council members are looking into what funds can be allocated to bring more officers to Federal Way, and communities are rallying together to hold safety meetings and other events to boost involvement.

When all that comes together, Moore said, crime will continue to decrease.

“We can become not just a better community, a safe community, but a stronger community,” Moore said. “The reality is we’ve had hiccups — these are hiccups — and it happens anywhere, but we are a great community and we’ve worked so hard at making sure we’re moving forward. We cannot let these type of things define who we are.”

Alexis Mansanarez is a student at the University of Washington in the News Lab program.

A park bench in memoriam of a Northeast Tacoma resident who was shot and killed one early morning while walking his dog sits on the corner of a busy Federal Way street. Photo by Alexis Mansanarez