Deputy Adriana Mazur with the Burien Police Department has been patrolling the city’s streets for the past two years.
After first serving with the Crime Reduction Unit, she accepted the role of Burien’s storefront resource officer in early 2025, where she actively works with the local downtown business community to deter crime.
Deputy Mazur’s path to public service was shaped many years earlier. Born in Ukraine, her family immigrated to the United States in 2009 after winning a visa lottery and settled in South Seattle. It was her father’s past military and law enforcement career that inspired her to follow in his footsteps and start her own path.
“He always came home and said that it felt rewarding, felt accomplished, like [he] had done something,” she said. That enthusiasm led Deputy Mazur to pursue higher education, where she started learning about psychology, law, and justice.
As a Kentridge High School student, Deputy Mazur participated in the Running Start program, earning credits at Highline Community College. Soon after, she transferred to Central Washington University, where she studied forensics and obtained bachelor’s degrees in law and justice, as well as sociology. During her undergrad year and the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, she interned at the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office in Eastern Washington. After graduating with a Master of Science in Law and Justice in 2022, she then applied to the King County Sheriff’s Office and started the Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien the same year.
As part of an enhanced approach to public safety, the Burien City Council voted to fund a full-time storefront resource officer in 2021. Based on a community policing model, the storefront resource officer’s role is to create relationships with businesses and help them with their ongoing public safety needs. Deputy Mazur sees community policing as a way to work together “in ways to help solve community problems related to crime.” By following up with business owners and providing one-on-one connections, she has become a vigilant, constant support system.
Fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, and English and conversationally fluent in Spanish, Deputy Mazur has a gift for connecting with people. She starts each day by visiting downtown businesses and ensuring there are no issues as they open. She follows up on any previous reports and stays in the area to provide a police presence. A strategic aspect of the role is to detect and discourage potential criminal activities, and as she becomes familiar with each business, she can anticipate likely scenarios.
“Depending on what each business reports, I go there and focus on that and try to deter the crime from happening,” said Deputy Mazur. One approach she uses is called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which she describes as “basically developing strategies to reduce crime, deter offenders, and the criminal acts [in those specific areas]. Then build that sense of community and police presence to build that trust with each business so they feel comfortable reporting an issue.”
According to the International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association, this approach aspires to dissuade individuals from committing crimes and build a sense of community to reduce crime and minimize fear.
Deputy Mazur shares that this framework was one of the reasons she joined the police force, and it helped her find her area of focus in school. “When I was in the master’s program, I learned about pathways to crime, and then more theories on how to reduce crime, including CPTED,” said Deputy Mazur. “Primarily, I focused on studying why women and juveniles commit crimes and what leads them to crime. I thought that having that idea [would] help me in law enforcement and address the why, and come up with solutions.”
Chief of Police, Tom Calabrese, acknowledges that the storefront officer plays a vital role for the Police Department as calls that were never reported before now have a voice. He also shares that he has seen the community impact of Deputy Mazur’s outreach.
“The community trust is there, and as a result, legitimate crimes are being reported, investigated, and result in criminal proceedings,” said Calabrese. “I hear about the work that [Deputy Mazur] does from the community, and they are happy with her skill, drive, knowledge on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, and compassion.”
Types of crime that can occur in the downtown area includes shoplifting, burglary, and vandalism. Deputy Mazur shares that incorporating the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design framework can look like installing lights in the alleyway and noting bushes where people could hide. Additionally, her time spent patrolling the area has helped her see beyond the obvious.
“I felt like I understood why crime is being committed and by whom, because of the years of experience I had with Burien,” she said. “I got to know community members and learned the type of crime that is being committed and why one would commit [it]. I saw the loops and gaps that exist within the system, within the police, and the community.”
Throughout her time serving in Burien, her appreciation of the city, the people, and her colleagues has grown.
“I’ve gotten to know everybody, and it’s nice that the community feels comfortable calling or texting me,” she said. “I love the spirit. I feel comfortable working in Burien, and I feel accepted by the community and businesses.”
Deputy Mazur acknowledges that having a rewarding job, being able to make a difference, and having the opportunity to engage with the community are all she’s ever wanted.
“I never saw myself doing anything else but be in this role and serve the community,” she said. Being there for others, especially on their worst day, is central to what drives her passion for the work. “I thought if I join law enforcement and be within this career, then I could be that 1% change and make somebody feel like somebody cares.”
