Ann Davison, the Republican City Attorney, won November election over Nicole Thomas-Kennedy (progressive former public defender). She stated that her office will charge all cases within five days.
Davison stated, “The best way of interrupting crime on the streets is to move quickly and efficiently on the cases referred by us by the Seattle Police Department.”
Davison stated that the city will be able to make charging decisions faster and avoid the City Attorney’s Office’s backlog of approximately 5,000 cases. Davison’s office reviews misdemeanors, while the King County prosecutor handles more serious crimes.
As with many other cities, Seattle saw an increase in crime, particularly violent crime, as a result of the pandemic, and the shrinking ranks of police officers.
After the 2020 protests for racial Justice and talk about defunding police, 350 Seattle Police Department officers have resigned and retired.
After a campaign where she pledged to take on low-level criminality, Davison was elected Seattle’s first woman city attorney last November. During her 12-year tenure, Pete Holmes, misdemeanor charges were reduced.
Thomas-Kennedy was Davison’s opponent in this election. She stated that she would work to abolish misdemeanor charges and instead redirect cases to mental health or addiction programs.
Many downtown businesses are pleading for more attention to criminal activity that has led to customers being driven away.
The Seattle Times reported that Olga Sagan, a restaurant owner, has closed her bakery at 3 p.m. because of rampant street crime including graffiti, break-ins and harassment, as well as public drug use.
Sagan stated, “I don’t want my employees to be here or leave here after dark,” and that businesses can’t function unless someone does something about criminality.
However, not all people believe that aggressively prosecuting low level crimes is a good way to address broad social problems.
Andrew Lewis, a former city attorney, stated that law enforcement should concentrate on larger crimes such as burglary or organized retail theft. These felonies are handled by the county prosecutor.
He said that the quality of prosecutions is far more important than their quantity. Many crimes are connected to homelessness, drug addiction, or mental health issues. Lewis stated that shelter and services are more cost-effective than jail and therefore, less effective than jail.
Lewis stated that “for the systemic problems we’re getting hit downtown, once something is referred to as a misdemeanor we’ve kinda already lost.” “If they do end up in jail, it will be for a few weeks. You know, many people will tolerate that part of the business’.”
Davison stated that she has had productive conversations with the Seattle Police Department as well as the Office of the New Mayor Bruce Harrell regarding addressing crime.
Harrell promised a “holistic approach” to crime, which would include outreach and human services as well as working with the police to address hot spots.
Tiffany Washington, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Homelessness, stated that the mayor’s office will address systemic issues like drug use and street crime.
