Police and Public Safety

Seattle Council Wants to Subsidize Cop Housing While Affordable Housing Is on Chopping Block

Seattle Police Department had a net loss of 36 officers in 2023 as recruitment efforts have yet to bear fruit. This has the Seattle City Council pondering more desperate measures.

CHOP’s Juneteenth ‘Black Out’ Disrupted by Shooting, One Black Man Dead

Black organizers planned a Black takeover or "Black Out" of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) during Juneteenth. However that celebration of Blackness was...
Two CCTV cameras mounted on a pole.

Harrell’s Expanded Surveillance Program Clears Hurdle in Seattle Council

Despite public outcry and limited outreach, Seattle City Council’s public safety committee greenlit Mayor Harrell's pilot program installing 24/7 surveillance cameras in three neighborhoods and purchasing real-time crime center software and staff. The legislation moves to a full council vote on October 8.

The Patchwork City: What Gaps and Overlaps in City Boundaries Tell Us about Values

I. Those Left Out: Skyway and Bryn Mawr It is budget season. Throughout Washington, cities are creating budgets that reflect the dual impacts of pandemic...
Mayor Durkan with Ferris wheel and Seattle waterfront in background

Mayor’s Budget Proposes Adding 35 Cops, Skimps Elsewhere

Mayor Jenny Durkan released her budget today and sent Deputy Mayor Shefali Ranganathan to deliver brief remarks on the proposal to the Seattle City...

Harrell Plans Hasty Rollout of Massive Surveillance Expansion

Mayor Harrell is seeking to quickly roll out gun-shot detectors and closed circuit cameras to feed into real-time crime center software, raising privacy concerns. Claims that this major expansion of the surveillance state will curb serious crime are largely unsubstantiated.
Mayor Jenny Durkan gave soon-to-retire Police Chief Carmen Best some flowers to express her gratitude during a press conference about blocking police budget cuts in the Norm Rice room at City Hall. (Seattle Channel)

Durkan Destroys 10 Months of Text Messages in Apparent Coverup

It was well known that Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is running a secretive administration, but a whistleblower complaint last week revealed a bombshell revelation...

About That $210 Million Youth Jail…

Block The Bunker activists celebrated after Mayor Ed Murray backed down and put the $149 million North Precinct police building on hold. But they...