Crime Down In Seattle, But City Faces Perception Of Lawlessness

SEATTLE, WA — Here are the cold, hard stats: Crime is down 12 percent in Seattle over the last 12 months.

But some Seattle residents and business owners don't believe those stats based on what they're seeing on city streets — and that difference is key to understanding why Mayor Jenny Durkan has launched a new month-long emphasis patrol program in seven city neighborhoods.

The Seattle City Council's Safe Communities Committee on Wednesday hosted Seattle police and other department officials to talk about the new program. The hearing revealed that the seven neighborhoods were chosen because of crime rates, but also because of items that might increase the perception that crime is high — like illegal dumping, illegally parked RVs and broken street lights. Data from the city's Find It/Fix It app, which allows residents to submit complaints about things like graffiti or clogged storm drains, was also a factor.

"I believe the statistics for crime have increased, but I believe it's far beyond what has been reported," University District resident Kurt Sorensen said before Wednesday's hearing, echoing more than a dozen other speakers at the meeting. "In my neighborhood, crime is so rampant, people have stopped reporting it."

The Council hearing came after Councilwoman Lorena Gonzalez sent a set of questions about the emphasis program to Durkan and Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best. Council does not have control over police deployments, but Gonzalez wanted to know why the seven neighborhoods were chosen, and what outcome Durkan and Best expect.

During the 30-day emphasis period, more Seattle police officers will be out on foot and bikes in the seven neighborhoods, which include Ballard, Fremont, Georgetown, Westlake, Pioneer Square, Sodo, and South Park. But staff from multiple city departments will also take part to handle problems like potholes or broken parks equipment.

Gonzalez asked Seattle Police Chief Strategy Officer Christopher Fisher what the city is doing to combat that Seattle residents are "calling bullocks" on police stats. He said the department uses more data than just crime reports. The department factors in 911 call data, random 911 callback surveys and the feedback from the annual Seattle University Public Safety Survey.

He also pointed to three types of crimes that are almost always reported: murder, burglary and car theft. The department can use that more data to find long-term trends.

"Most crime is under-reported," he said. "I feel pretty confident the trend, the story of the numbers, is pretty on point."

Another factor on perception of crime is location. Fisher and Assistant Chief Eric Greening talked specifically about each of the seven neighborhoods included in the new emphasis patrols.

In south Ballard, crime increased 11 percent between 2017 and 2018. The largest increase has been in crimes like theft and car prowls. Other neighborhoods haven't seen big increases in crime, but have seen other problems. Fischer said that Georgetown is overall a "low crime" area, but reports of abandoned vehicles (2,500) and illegal dumping (1,000) jumped in 2018.

Although crime in Seattle is down 12 percent over the last year, Fisher said that crime increased 2.3 percent between 2017 and 2018. That coincided with a 2.3 increase in population, meaning the crime rate stayed about the same.

"Generally the story is, the city is fairly stable over the past two years, we look good at the beginning of this year, but there are concerns in certain neighborhoods," he said of crime in Seattle.