Seattle Mayor Details 'Operation New Day' Downtown Crime Plan

SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell on Friday detailed early results of the city's "Operation New Day" initiative, designed to reduce crime around the city's downtown core. Harrell hosted a news conference Friday, flanked by Seattle's interim police chief, Adrian Diaz, and representatives from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the Seattle City Attorney, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The mayor said the city's latest crime-focused public safety effort started on Jan. 21 in the Little Saigon neighborhood, where officers and federal agents targeted fentanyl dealers, illegal firearms and other felony offenses, resulting in 16 arrests and dozens of charges.

"We are seeing early progress at 12th and Jackson in no small part due to the combined and collaborative efforts of Operation New Day to address crime, drug trafficking, and gun violence," Harrell said Friday. "Restoring a sense of safety downtown and citywide requires urgent action to stabilize areas where crime is prevalent. Sustainable improvement requires resetting norms and implementing a comprehensive, holistic approach that revitalizes Seattle neighborhoods."

This week, the operation extended to the area of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street, following the shooting deaths of a man last Sunday and a young teen Wednesday evening. Since then, Seattle police have deployed a "mobile precinct" to 3rd & Pine and Harrell said a minimum of six officers would be staffed in the area across shifts.

The mayor and the interim police chief both said success would depend on regional partnerships, including with the King County Sheriff's Office, King County Metro and federal agencies.

"The many challenges facing our city cannot be solved by one department alone," Diaz said. "SPD cannot arrest its way out of a rise in crime, homelessness, mental health and economic inequality. But working with local and federal partners, we all have a much better chance of success."

"Operation New Day" is far from the first time Seattle has taken a targeted approach to downtown law enforcement, including the "9 1/2 Block Strategy" unveiled by Ed Murray in 2015 and emphasis patrols established in the wake of a 2020 shooting at 3rd and Pine that left one woman dead and seven other people injured. On Friday morning, police said a man was stabbed on 4th Avenue and Pike Street, little more than a block from where the mobile precinct was operating.

"This location has been impacted by crime for decades," Diaz said. "We know this work will not be accomplished immediately. It may take many months, but one thing is certain. It cannot be done by SPD alone. We need [the] help of all city departments, our federal law enforcement partners, the King County Sheriff's Office, Metro police, the courts, and the jail. We need the support of our community. We all have a lot of work to do, let's do it right, and let's do it together."