ARLINGTON – The City Council is going on ride-alongs with Arlington police to follow up on complaints about crime in town and to see what they have to deal with every day.

Council members Marilyn Oertle, Debora Nelson, Jesica Stickles and Sue Weiss went out last week with officers.

Oertle said, “Officers Cook and Adkins showed us areas of the city that we don’t usually see. It is very obvious to me that we have a serious problem with homelessness and heroin addiction. I am hopeful that giving the council the opportunity to see this firsthand will lead to some solutions.”

Nelson agreed.

“During my ride along with Officer Cook, I realized that the homeless and drug addiction issue that has grown throughout Snohomish County, and that Arlington does not have a simple solution. I believe that the state of Washington needs to work with communities to make a strategic plan to help the homeless and to fight the drug epidemic.”

Stickles said she actually became uneasy on the ride.

“I was nervous what we would find in the back wooded areas where the transient camps are. It is mostly garbage and drug paraphernalia. This saddened me. The majority of our drug addicted homeless population are youth, and this is how they are living. There is no doubt we need a solution. But because of how multi-faceted the causes are, we have yet to find a strong resolution. This ride-along just reinforced the need of our continued pursuit  of the best solutions,” she said.

And Weiss added: “I think property owners of vacant wooded land and homes should take more responsibility for maintenance and security of their properties. We also need additional funding at the state and federal levels to house and treat those that want help. This is an issue that most towns and cities are experiencing across the nation currently, and there are no fast, easy solutions.”