Police Reform and Public Safety

New Chief. New Contract. New Culture.

I have travelled the country, learning about a wide variety of police leadership methods. I look forward to hiring a truly transformational leader who shares and embodies our City’s demand for more accountability. We need a Chief who will stand up to the Seattle Police Officers Guild to establish not just more transparency from SPD, but actual accountability to the community. The Chief must lead the training that all officers - both new and veteran - will be required to complete. The Chief will need to be an expert in data driven solutions that will establish clear expectations that both officers and the public can see and count on. At this present moment, we have an unprecedented opportunity to select a leader who will build a new path toward reform. I look forward to involving the residents of Seattle in a comprehensive search and screening process for the new Chief, in which their input is prioritized above all else. Seattle’s new Police Chief will inspire the officers that work under them to stay true to these standards, very clearly demonstrating what behavior is and is not acceptable. The Chief sets the tone for how the rest of the department operates and responds to the public.

By creating an entirely new departmental culture, we can finally build trust in our community. Currently, the SPD lacks legitimacy, especially in the eyes of communities of color. Seattle has one of the largest racial disparities in arrests and killings in the country. For every 1 white resident arrested, are arrested. This lack of legitimacy means that the police do not have the trust and cooperation to do their jobs effectively. Everyone, police officers and the community, are frustrated by this. Let’s change that.

I will renegotiate the union contract to ensure that it is equitable and fair, following best practice labor and workplace standards. This has to be done in conjunction with state lawmakers who have recently sent a series of accountability and reform measures to the Governor’s desk. As a member of the CPC, I was against our current contract years ago because I believe we can do better. I will ensure that the City manages secondary employment of officers. Additionally, I will revisit the City’s , ensuring that it is in compliance with the new contract and statewide reforms. For example, excessive moonlighting from officers - in which they are hired by private entities to partake in the same work they perform as paid public employees - significantly City resources. Seattle City Light, a public utility, should not be privately compensating private firms to enlist the services of off-duty SPD officers with public dollars. The CPC has been begging for years to instill a level of accountability here. The time is long overdue for us to institute oversight over this practice. Officers are exhausted from working overtime, so monitoring their off-duty hours would prevent burnout and improve service delivery to the community. 

We need a police force who know and love this City the way we know and love this City. Currently, 80% of the police force lives outside of Seattle, making it extremely difficult for officers to know how to best respond to situations that require context and understanding. We must incentivize local recruitment of our officers, in addition to prioritizing diverse staffing so that our officers actually reflect the community they serve. The only way to instill accountability is if officers feel personally connected to the neighborhoods they serve, which can be achieved through a pipeline of community members being trained to become local police officers.

A true community based civilian police force grounded in neighborhood values should never have the need or urge to adopt a regimented, militarized method of operation. I will continue to enforce Seattle’s code that prohibits SPD from participating in the 1033 Program, which is a mechanism for police departments to obtain military equipment from the Defense Logistics Agency. My opposition to police militarization extends to crowd control and protest response. On the CPC in June, I voted to recommend that SPD stop deploying tear gas in all capacities. We must incorporate the Center for Policing Equity’s on crowd management, ranging from opposing mass arrests to mandating medical assistance in crowd management events, into SPD’s Standard Operating Procedures on crowd management. As we saw last summer, responding to public demonstrations with violence and use of force simply makes the matter worse. The police should exist to protect and uplift the voices of the community, which is why I am in favor of restricting SPD’s use of chemical munitions, deployment of SWAT teams, and issuance of riot gear. House Bill 1054 prevents the usage of tear gas in cities unless the Mayor signs off on it, something I never plan to do.

Seattle needs to undergo a broader, deeper analysis of biased policing. The Center for Policing Equity is currently reviewing SPD’s policies, trainings, impact on Black, Indigenous, People of Color communities, and accountability measures. These findings will be morphed into clear strategies for the department to pursue. I will expand this to include a comprehensive review of bias in policing. It is also my priority to see that these strategies are actually implemented and done so in a manner that centers the voices of our City’s most marginalized communities.

Real Accountability.

Excessive traffic stops, minor infractions like jaywalking, and bike helmet infractions are up to five times higher for people of color in our City. This doesn’t build trust. Homicides by about 50% in 2020. Additionally, the violent crimes and property crimes in the City demonstrate that these are the areas we need our police to start focusing on. However, through a collaborative and transparent process based on the principles of procedural justice, we can get one step closer to building back a positive relationship built on the foundation of accountability, establishing clear priorities for SPD in consultation with the public. This can start through municipal courts resolving ordinance violations and infractions through a fair and impartial process, as well as mandatory trauma informed training for all judges, prosecutors, defenders, and clerks. By investing in methods likely to change behavior prior to arrest, we can improve outcomes at all levels. It’s time for our justice system to become about resolving conflict, not creating multi-generational trauma.

Communities must set the priorities, policies, and practices for public safety in their neighborhoods. We must work toward creating a pipeline in which kids see policing as something that protects their communities. I will issue an Executive Order to deploy no harm at the outset, as police will be required to have an approach that does not immediately default to arrest and detention. This is the final step in refocusing police activity to actually respond to violent crimes and true emergencies. Let’s not award officers for their arrests, but rather the amount of community members they actually help.

In 2018, arrests was for a community member experiencing homelessness, despite this group making up 1 percent of Seattle’s overall population. The majority of arrests are for non-violent incidents, but as the disproportionate arrests ratio indicates, they occupy an exorbitant amount of police resources. It is also worth mentioning that these arrests do not include those who were handcuffed, cited, or temporarily detained by SPD. Such a lopsided process further makes the case for the piloting of crisis response teams and other alternative community emergency services.

We need to humanize and treat every member of our City with respect, whether they live on the streets or in a home. I will ensure that all residents have a place to stay that is safe. This means that the police will be the last people that will respond to an unhoused community member in crisis. Once again, homelessness is not a crime. Let’s let the police focus on the real crimes in our City. 

Zero Tolerance for Bad Cops.

Police officers who abuse their power, use excessive force, demonstrate racial, sexual, or social bias, subvert the rights you the people set for our community, are dishonest, or don’t believe in your safety will not be welcome. My zero tolerance policy will be a baseline requirement for the new Police Chief that will be hired at the start of my term.

In the past, Seattle police chiefs have been reluctant to fire or discipline SPD officers because they are worried their decisions will be overturned in arbitration. SPD officers are well aware of this reality, which results in both a decrease in accountability and discipline within the Department. This keeps our City less safe. By remaining afraid to fire bad cops, we are not only directly undermining the Chief’s command authority, but the mandate of the community we serve. 

I am committed to changing this dynamic and will only hire a new Police Chief that shares my core value of zero tolerance for bad policing. If at any point in my term do we end up with a Police Chief who is reluctant to fire officers that inappropriately target and endanger any resident or visitor, then I will be looking for a new Police Chief. Accountability to the people of Seattle begins and ends with me. 

If we do decide to terminate an officer, we will litigate that decision fiercely. Recent state legislation has demonstrated that there is a push to for excessive use of force and of officers who have engaged in misconduct. State court decisions as of late also illustrate an increasing respect for the decision of Police Chiefs in hiring and firing procedure. Something I will explore in the new union contract will be revisiting the notion that disciplinary appeals go through the Public Safety Civil Service Commission at the City level. Additionally, I will work with the Washington State Legislature to reform the police arbitration process, supporting measures like Senate Bill 5055, which requires arbitrator decisions to be posted on the Public Employment Relations Commission website and for there to be mandatory procedures for selecting arbitrators in grievance hearings. However, if after all this we still end up having bad cops return to the force through the arbitration process, my Police Chief will make sure that they are taken off the streets and assigned to desk jobs. 

Transparency and Civilian Oversight.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild boldly resists reform efforts, acts with impunity, and fails to hold their officers accountable for their actions. The community will be at the table as we establish policies and practices for our current police force, in addition to considering innovative training and intervention methods. We need to empower the CPC to be a true stakeholder in the accountability and provide a layer of needed transparency of the SPD. 

I will create a transparency dashboard, in which residents have regularly updated information about oversight measures, as well as ways they can provide input on Standard Operating Procedures, ordinance revisions, and agency structure. I will also conduct a bi-weekly community briefing alongside the Police Chief, whether it be through neighborhood forums, open conversations, or town halls. We will update you on our efforts to change the culture of SPD with a readout of police response statistics to track progress. Continual briefings will put us in a position to not just quantify our efforts, but ensure that we hold our agencies accountable. 

As Mayor, I will expand the purview of these public bodies, in addition to supporting oversight and public input provided through the establishment of the Office of Inspector General (OIG). Especially after what we saw last summer through SPD’s deployment of chemical munitions and response to mass demonstrations, there is a pressing need to conduct thorough reviews of use of force incidents, crowd control policies, and allegations against staff. The is just one step toward reviewing critical incidents and cultivating meaningful solutions with the end goal of preventing harm on a systemic level. 

Department of Public Safety.

We must think creatively and devote resources that actually address the need for public safety across our City. Innovative programs like the Fire Department’s Mobile Integrated Mental Health response unit Health One pilot program and the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) take public health approaches to violence prevention by strengthening evidence-based strategies at the local level. Part of this involves analyzing how we as a City can provide our residents and visitors with the best possible services. Transferring parking and/or traffic enforcement to a separate municipal division outside of SPD could provide these units with more specific resources to perform their responsibilities to our City. Civil traffic infractions do not need to involve a police response. Pulling over drivers for expired license plates or minor traffic violations puts the safety of other drivers at risk. Red light cameras and other means of photo enforcement can help reduce bias, as disproportionate racial disparities in who is pulled over by SPD in traffic stops remains a significant issue. Unless the public’s safety is in immediate danger, the police do not need to be involved. Housing these types of approaches under a comprehensive City department will ensure they have the necessary staff time and funding to succeed.

As a result, our over-policed communities know the resources that they need to achieve public safety, reduce crime, and hold young people accountable in a way that does not push more black and brown people into the system. It is integral for our City to decrease repeat calls for service at high frequency locations and from high frequency individuals through neighborhood centered programs. Some of these programs already exist, such as and , which are restorative based practices. 

Through collaboration, accountability, and transparency, the City of Oakland crafted a violence reduction strategy that reduced gun violence by . Oakland’s “triple bottom line” sought to reduce shootings and homicides, improve life outcomes and reduce recidivism rates, and build better relationships in the community. The identifies individuals at the highest risk of participating in serious violence. Street outreach teams allow for easy communication between residents and provide them with access to services from community-based organizations. The Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) offers crisis intervention and case management services to individuals who are treated for violent injury at hospitals. Residents are followed up with after being discharged, with the intention of preventing both retaliatory violence and reinjury. The City of Los Angeles pursued something similar with its . This focused on addressing the root causes of violence through prevention, intervention, suppression, reentry, and the equitable distribution of resources. I will incorporate an Office of Crime Prevention within the Department of Public Safety to guarantee long-term methods of success. Basing community-based specialists at the neighborhood level and leveraging public-private partnerships with hospitals for intervention will drastically reduce violence in our City.

Crime prevention through environmental design is another violence prevention strategy I will pursue. Understanding that the built environment impacts public behavior, we must think creatively about ways to design our space. Managing sustainable resident flow through clear entrances and exits will limit the areas where crime can occur. Further, revamping land design to expand visibility and usage will limit the opportunities in which perpetrators can take advantage of unsuspecting victims.

By taking a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach that considers health considerations across policymaking, we can reduce chronic inequities in service delivery. This includes placing an emphasis on health equity, where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full health potentials. Every resident should have access to the social determinants of health, which are the conditions that shape health outcomes. Community safety encompasses one of the largest components of these social determinants. On a national level, best practices around mental health response integrate unarmed first responders with mental health professionals through the creation of a Crisis Response Team. When having a mental health crisis, residents should not be punished for being unhoused or poor.

Mental health related calls, whether they be welfare checks, suicide prevention, substance abuse, counseling, or non-emergency, take up more time than almost any other call. Just last year, SPD officers spent nearly of their time only responding to 911 calls that were labeled Priority 1 and 2, constituting robberies, shots-fired incidents, and assaults. During in 2020, SPD focused only on these types of 911 calls, demonstrating that it simply does not have the time or resources to respond to mental health related calls for service. This is not to mention that the City’s current crisis response team is a co-responder model that involves law enforcement joining the response. An armed response is almost never required for mental health crises. I want to go one step further than the City’s current crisis response team by creating a 24/7 mobile team of community paramedics and trained crisis workers. This would allow for Seattle to provide the highest quality service possible by sending the appropriate agency based on the subject of the call. The State of Washington recently passed House Bill 1477, which creates a new 988 emergency phone number specifically for mental health emergencies. I envision our Crisis Response Team being deployed through calls being triaged through this number. The City of Seattle can now focus on who responds after the initial emergency to help guide us toward stability in housing, substance abuse, or mental illness.

During 2019 in Eugene, Oregon, the Crisis Response Team responded to 24,000 calls, in which only required police backup. It is also estimated that this team responds to roughly of calls annually, saving the City about in public safety spending annually. 

The Crisis Response Team is mobile, providing it with the flexibility to respond to a variety of non-violent calls. One of its most important components is that it provides callers with transport to essential social services. By cultivating relationships with King County and community partners to build a centralized urban stabilization and restoration center, we can integrate mobile response on one end with sustained recovery on the other. Oftentimes, recipients of the Crisis Response Team need long-term care after being initially treated at the scene of the call by the Crisis Response Team, so addressing non-violent crimes through restorative justice, addiction recovery, and on-site mental health programming in this center would be critical. Doing this not only addresses inequities by meeting residents' needs prior to crises taking place, but ensures that SPD has the resources available to support crime victims in immediate need. Lake City neighbors, in partnership with three service provider organizations, have proposed to launch a pilot Community Safety Hub, which is very similar to this idea. I am willing to go even further and commit to full funding.

I have seen the trauma the police have inflicted on our unhoused neighbors who are already suffering. We must collectively agree that mental illness and homelessnes are not crimes. The cycle of arrests, jail time, and return to the streets of so many of our neighbors demonstrates how our current public safety institutions have failed both them and our City. Our police force is not adequately trained or equipped to deal with these crises and should focus on preventing and solving crime, not criminalizing poverty and mental illness. Impact is always more important than intent. This is why we need to transition response from the City to the community. Involving peers from local neighborhoods in emergency response is another avenue to ground solutions directly in and by the people.

By following the lead of other municipalities in creating a service line specifically for municipal services, we can reduce 911 call volume to free up police services. However, this can only happen if we follow the expertise of City Staff and listen to what the public wants as well. I will continue looking into best practices to streamline these services. Providing unrestricted access to the City is one of my primary goals as Mayor, so having a central line of contact to reach every City department and receive a response for the calls that do not rise to emergency levels will allow for us to offer you the best possible customer service. Overall, innovative prevention programs and community based interventions through a Department of Public Safety will be key for the future of our City.