A recently released midyear crime report from the Council on Criminal Justice revealed that while murder is down across the U.S. when compared to 2019, Seattle’s homicide rate is 50% higher than it was five years ago.

Frustrated Seattle voters, fed up with the mass exodus of police officers (Seattle currently has fewer police officers than it did 60 years ago during the 1962 World’s Fair) and rising crime rates, quickly replaced seven of the nine city councilmembers who voted on the city’s 2020 and 2021 “defund the police” measures.

Each of the city’s new councilmembers ran on platforms which pledged to reverse the city’s deteriorating public safety. New councilmember Bob Kettle has been tapped to chair the council’s Public Safety Committee which will deliberate on proposals to increase the number of police officers and reduce the city’s staggering crime rates. Last week, residents of Kettle’s Council District received an emailed update on what the council was doing to return common sense policies to fight the city’s crime crisis. The detailed 1,500-word update describes the “six pillars” his committee is working through.

Among the pillars is one focused on slowing down the number (over 700 thus far) of police officers who have left the department and replace those who have already left. Kettle described some administrative items which will allow recruits to begin service more quickly and also the completion of a much-delayed contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild (making them highest paid in the region) after the previous council allowed the last agreement to expire in 2021.

Yet, since the mass departure of officers is primarily due to the officers’ belief that they are not supported by elected city officials, the key aspect of Kettle’s efforts might be his visits to each of the city’s five police precincts. While talking to the officers, Kettle said he asked the officers to give the council at least one year before making any decision to leave. During that time, he believes the officers will realize that the councilmembers’ attitudes from the past have been replaced with ones where elected officials seek to partner with the police department on public safety issues.

Other pillars in the Public Safety Committee’s approach include setting up targeted zones to combat sex trafficking and drugs, fencing off or demolishing vacant buildings, removing graffiti, and imposing stronger penalties for street racing.

The Seattle Times recently voiced the anxiety of some impatient residents who supported the overhaul of the previous council and were hoping for quicker action from its new members.

City Council President Sara Nelson responded to the concerns by stating the members were “doing their homework” and collecting ideas on how to proceed.  She stated that the slow pace “is absolutely necessary” and reminded everyone that the “defund the police” measures were done very quickly. Doing so not only caused a crime wave but also many expensive administration problems.

The council is now moving into its time-consuming process of determining the city’s annual budget. This laborious endeavor has been made even tougher since the previous council irresponsibly left behind a $260 million deficit for the new council to repair.

It is normal to want immediate action from this new city council, yet more pressure should be placed on Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell who has been in office nearly three years. During that time, he has offered very few solutions to the public safety crisis except for the implementation of emphasis patrol in heavy drug use areas. These patrols are effective in temporarily moving the drug activity elsewhere, but it always returns when the patrol ends.

Councilmember Kettle’s six pillars are a good start to fixing the city’s crime problem, and it is wise to learn from the previous council that rushed knee-jerk legislation is rarely vetted properly. For now, it appears councilmembers are working at a steady pace to determine what comes next. It makes sense to not rush to solutions which don’t work. There appears to be consensus to strengthen the police department, remove trouble spots, enforce laws, and prosecute and jail criminals.  This is the proper direction and CM Kettle’s six pillars are a great place to start.

ChangeWA will continue to monitor city council developments, but for now we are encouraged by the direction and pace the council has taken.