Earlier this month, the King County Department of Public Defense issued a report showing that the City of Seattle has fallen short on offering diversion and treatment to people criminalized by its new 2023 drug ordinance. During the reviewed period, only six prosecutions out of 215, resulted in someone either completing treatment or receiving a court order to that effect, less than 3%.

Last week, the Seattle School Board rejected a year-long pilot program to install a police officer inside Garfield High School in a 5-2 vote. School board directors cited a chaotic process, community distrust, and a need to finetune the plan.

Mayor Bruce Harrell has proposed a 0.1% sales tax hike for public safety investments, including doubling the size of the civilian CARE department. However, CARE’s future rests on cooperation from the Seattle Police Officers Guild, which has sought to limit the fledgling agency in the past.

Mayor Bruce Harrell has pledged to complete labor negotiations with the Seattle Police Officers Guild before the end of the year. But facing a tough reelection fight, he might not be around to sign the deal, which challenger Katie Wilson may want to renegotiate anyway.

In Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2026 budget proposal unveiled Tuesday, the Seattle Police Department was the big winner, seeing a $34.5 million increase. The mayor would use a new 0.1% “public safety” sales tax increase and a business tax overhaul to close a $122 million deficit and fund new investments.