Public defenders are warning that public defense as we know it is on course to collapse in King County and across the state if officials do not intervene with reforms and more resources.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Robart convened a consent decree hearing and found that the City, after 12 years, is close to compliance once the Seattle Police Department submits revised crowd control policy. He does have lingering concerns about bias-free policing and accountability, particularly given the most recent police guild contract.

Downgraded from a full audit and long delayed, the Office of Inspector General’s six-page mutual aid review did not assess if outside police forces patrolling the streets of Seattle would be required to follow SPD bias policies, be held to SPD force review policies, and be accountable for their actions through the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) complaint process. 

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2025 budget would cut elsewhere to fund a 16% increase to the Seattle Police Department. The cuts to affordable housing and social services could backfire, undermining public safety and homelessness response.

Despite public outcry and limited outreach, Seattle City Council’s public safety committee greenlit Mayor Harrell's pilot program installing 24/7 surveillance cameras in three neighborhoods and purchasing real-time crime center software and staff. The legislation moves to a full council vote on October 8.

Under the budget for the next two years proposed by Mayor Bruce Harrell, around half of the JumpStart funding originally earmarked for affordable housing and other investments would instead fund Harrell Administration priorities.

Activating public spaces is a worthy goal, but it takes welcoming people in with placemaking and guardianship, not banishing those deemed undesirable.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court's sweep-friendly Grants Pass decision, the Seattle City Council is advancing stay out zones in hopes of criminalizing drug abuse, sex work, and homelessness out of existence. History suggests this will not work.