Seattle Forward

Big Win for Police Innovation in Seattle

Very good news this week for highly focused police innovation around the policing of micro places where crime is concentrated. We received a $978,000 grant from the federal government’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to implement an innovative place-based, community-oriented youth violence prevention strategy in Rainier Beach. This is a great opportunity to improve public safety in this neighborhood.

The project builds on two ongoing City initiatives deeply embedded in the community—the Youth Violence Prevention Initiative and the Rainier Beach Neighborhood Plan Update. The plan update specifically asked the Police Department to “consider a ‘hot spots’ approach to crime prevention” in the neighborhood.

The City will partner with George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy for the project’s research and evaluation component, work that is crucial in measuring the impact of taxpayer dollars. The GMU Center has done excellent work on the value of focusing police resources on particular problem places (often called “hot spots”), a topic about which I’ve written extensively.

This grant is especially gratifying because it serves as a good example of how developing partnerships with outside institutions is important and can help create a culture of inquiry and innovation. While digging for background information for another project, the Office of City Auditor formed a relationship with the research experts at GMU. The Council then hosted several of them last year for a discussion about place-based and evidence-based crime prevention. After the visit, numerous City departments worked with GMU on this successful grant proposal and the Council submitted a letter in support.

Congratulations and thank you to all the dedicated City staff and partners who helped craft the grant application and to the people of Rainier Beach. 

Police Reform and Increasing Public Safety

On July 27, the city took a significant step toward reform of the Seattle Police Department and improving public safety when the mayor agreed to a settlement and related companion agreement with the Department of Justice after seven months of negotiations.

But what kind of reform do we want? Who will decide? How will we know when we achieve it? These are important questions that are not answered with any precision in the settlement documents. The answers are left to a federal monitor (appointed in the next couple of months), city policymakers, police commanders, and a new citizen commission (also appointed in the next couple of months).

The reform I’m eager to achieve will celebrate police excellence, reward officers who exercise effective leadership, embrace constitutional principles, and prompt active praise of our officers and deep appreciation from the people of Seattle. This is the reform that is essential and long overdue.

SODO Arena Discussions Continuing

Since the Council's July 30, 2012 letter to Chris Hansen, our staff and lawyers have been involved in conversations with Mr. Hansen. These discussions are continuing in a fruitful manner. We will continue our deliberations of the legislative package as quickly as possible, but a matter of this significance requires very careful and thorough consideration.

As a result, the proposed arena is not on the agenda for this Wednesday's Government Performance and Finance Committee meeting. The Committee will consider the arena legislation again in September.

Libraries Win, So Do Our Children

The positive approval of the special Libraries for All Levy this week was a strong affirmation of Seattle’s care for our children. The vote proved once again that Seattle voters are indeed amazingly generous and want to invest in the things that matter.

Now, starting next year, every day of the week, every week of the year, children and adults throughout Seattle will have a safe place to nurture their love of reading and learning. Public libraries represent a sanctuary of learning in every neighborhood. Public schools provide the same.  

I strongly believe public libraries and public schools need our enthusiastic support so that our children can thrive and grow into responsible citizens. Learning is the rock-solid foundation for economic opportunity that leads to good jobs and a successful life.

That’s why I worked so hard last year for passage of the Families and Education Levy that provides vital support to our schoolchildren most at risk academically. Seattle voters generously approved that measure for children as well.

You Deserve Results from the City Budget

Yet, I took to heart what some critics of the Library Levy said: Why is the City not funding such key priorities through the general fund budget? That’s a fair question that deserves an answer.