Seattle Forward

Moving Forward

The City Council took an important step yesterday in adopting two parts of my five-point plan to address crime and street disorder on our streets and sidewalks. 

In summary, the five measures to improve the qualify-of-life on our streets includes more police foot patrols, continued hiring of officers to increase police presence in our neighborhoods, enhanced efforts to connect those in need with appropriate social services, making more “housing first” units with support services a priority in order to give those who have been chronically homeless a real opportunity to find a safe place to call home and a new law to prohibit intimidating behavior during the course of a solicitation. 

First, the Council voted 5-4 in favor of the aggressive solicitation ordinance that creates a civil infraction for intimidating behavior that causes fear or the compulsion to give while soliciting.  The penalty:  a $50 fine or community service.  Read my statement delivered yesterday in support of this legislation: Download 2010 04 19 CM Burgess Remarks on Solicitation. Mayor McGinn has said that he will veto this ordinance. 

Safer Streets, Less Punishment

Can we have less crime and less punishment at the same time? I think we can.

The City Council will vote next Monday on a new aggressive solicitation ordinance, the first step in our efforts to reduce crime and make our streets and sidewalks safer for everyone. (The new law passed out of committee last week on a 3-1 vote; Conlin, Bagshaw and myself in favor, Licata opposed.)

The ordinance is part of a five-point plan to address street crime and disorder. It has generated heated objections from some who claim it attacks the homeless and sweeps our city of people who look unpleasant or make us uncomfortable. That's simply not true. In fact, the leaders of major

Less Crime, Less Punishment Advocate Coming to Seattle

The City Council is pleased to bring Mark A. R. Kleiman, a professor of public policy at UCLA, to Seattle’s Town Hall on April 22 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss innovative ways to control crime and reduce unacceptably high incarceration rates. The event is free and open to the public. Town Hall is located at 1119 Eighth Avenue (at 8th Avenue and Seneca Street).

In addition to Town Hall, co-sponsors of the event include the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State, City Club, the Downtown Seattle Association, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seattle University School of Law, the University of Washington School of Law and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

Seattle and its sister Puget Sound cities and towns are safer than some areas of the United States. Even so, our own communities are burdened by intractable crime problems and the public and social costs of jails and prisons. Mark Kleiman is one of a number of pioneering public policy thinkers who have offered persuasive and creative reforms of our law enforcement and criminal justice systems.

Kleiman believes the current system features unfocused enforcement and sanctions that are randomly applied. This means a failure to target the most damaging criminal behavior, and inconsistent and often overly harsh punishment. As a result, we end up with the worst of all possible worlds: high crime rates and mass incarceration. He proposes reforms that can cut our crime and incarceration rates by half. How? By concentrating enforcement resources, enforcing probation and parole conditions, targeting specific offenders and ensuring swift and certain— though not always severe—punishment. Kleiman details these thoughts in his 2009 book, When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment.

“Ideas that make a real difference don’t come along often. Mark Kleiman’s got a big one here.”
―Robert H. Frank, Cornell University

“Crime is costly. Punishment is costly. Mark Kleiman shows how, by being clever rather than vindictive, we can have much less of both than anyone thought possible.”
―Michael O'Hare, University of California, Berkeley

Does Aggressive Solicitation Law Attack Homeless?

Opponents of the proposed aggressive solicitation ordinance say it is unfairly aimed at the homeless and those struggling with poverty.  Of course, I disagree or else I wouldn't have proposed the law in the first place.  Experts in the field of social services also disagree as is evident in this letter from leaders of major human services providers received at Council offices today: Download Human Service Public Safety Letter.  The letter is signed by the executive directors of Plymouth Housing, YWCA, YMCA, Downtown Emergency Services Center, Union Gospel Mission and Compass Housing Alliance.

Here's an excerpt from the letter:  "We specifically want to address the anti-solicitation ordinance, which has generated a large amount of discussion and debate.  Some have suggested in public testimony before the Council that the ordinance is "anti-homeless" or designed to "target the poor."  We couldn't disagree more with these characterizations.  We support this ordinance because it strikes a balance between protecting rights and restricting intimidating and aggressive behavior.  The ordinance focuses on specific behaviors and applies to anyone who is aggressively soliciting in Seattle."

Also today, the Downtown Seattle Association released the results of a live-operator poll they conducted about this ordinance.  Support for the ordinance is overwhelmingly strong. Read media coverage here. 

Revised Aggressive Solicitation Ordinance

The revised Aggressive Solicitation ordinance is now available.  The changes clear up misunderstandings, lend more clarity and require an annual assessment of the effectiveness of the ordinance from the City Attorney and Chief of Police. 

The Council's Public Safety and Education Committee will discuss and vote on this ordinance on Wednesday, April 7 at 9:30 a.m. in Council chambers.