Urban vagrants have become an increasingly difficult problem

A reader writes to say several neighbors in Everett have teamed up to discourage homeless and would be thieves from accessing the wooded area behind their homes, workshops and garages. Urban vagrants have become an increasingly difficult problem all over Snohomish County. Using cameras and electric fencing, they have created a system that alerts them to motion and then stops the unwanted visitors with a harmless shock. This process takes long enough to engage the trespassers and/or call the police. The writer says it works and they haven't had to call the police. Although, they have had to repair the fence several times.

Fred Meyer in Mill Creek has used a different approach, They have temporarily fenced off a small wooded area near Bothell-Everett highway to allow goats to eat the undergrowth and give their customers a break from the fear of vagrants that camp, panhandle and do drugs adjacent to their park lot. This small area has become a hub for urban vagrants and drug addicts that effects many small businesses in the area. It is very common to see drug induced paralysis and other tragic or non-social behavior on the sidewalks day and night in this area. The goats will eat down the undergrowth and allow for better visibility into the area allowing better monitoring of elicit behavior.