Police and Public Safety

Seven CARE members wear logoed blue short sleeve shirts that are their official garb. These pose of the step of Seattle City Hall.

Seattle’s Dual Dispatch Civilian Crisis Responder Program Expands, Despite Obstacles

Seattle's civilian safety department will quadruple in size by hiring 18 additional responders and 3 supervisors. For now, the CARE department is handling a tiny fraction of 911 calls, but that could change in time.
Several sheriff vehicles park on Pine Street in Downtown Seattle next to the light rail station.

The Proliferation of Cars Has Driven Overpolicing and Crimes Waves

As the Seattle City Council voted to trim its 1400-strong sworn police force by 100 officers, critics suggested crime would increase. Some armchair criminologists...
Sherae Lascelles, Robert, Patricia Allen, Serena Oduro, Debora Oliveira-Couch, and more shared the screen during the Community Teach In.

The Defund SPD Community Teach-In and the Layered Resistance to Change

Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now are making a big ask. Their plan to reduce the Seattle Police Department budget is bound to...
Bruce Harrell sits at a desk signing some orders at City Hall with a dozen supporters looking on.

Centrists Turn to Old Formula: Crime Fears and More Money for Cops

The progressive wing of Seattle politics is having a vigorous debate about the future of the city with plenty of new policy ideas bouncing...

Seattle Council Bans Chemical Weapons and Other Brutal Crowd Control Tactics

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) repeatedly tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed crowds during the first two weeks of protests, but the Seattle City Council sought to close...
Fire and smoke pours out of upper story windows of an old brick building with a fire crane seeking to control them.

Seattle Aims to Tamp Down Vacant Building Fires

Vacant building fires have become increasingly common in Seattle in recent years. In response to the threat that these fires can pose, Mayor Bruce...
A ten story building with a pinkish purple sunset in the background

Op-Ed: Inquest into Faletogo Killing Highlights Seattle Police Accountability Failures

A 2018 traffic stop ended with a horrific Seattle police killing of Iosia Faletogo deemed "lawful and proper." Six years later a jury saw it differently, but the inquest also highlighted the need for stronger police accountability mechanisms.

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.