03/16/2022
DPD Director Anita Khandelwal issued a statement in response to the Seattle City Attorney's Office "high utilizer initiative" -- noting, among other things, that this is a tired strategy that is expensive, ineffective, racially disproportionate, and harmful. And just how tired is this approach? Take a look at the story linked below -- a 2012 report announcing essentially the same strategy and focused on the same area.
Anita's statement:
"Over the last decade, the City has repeatedly announced similarly named initiatives that would focus more law enforcement resources on those already most policed as a strategy for addressing public safety. In 2012, it re-introduced the “High Impact Offender Program.” In 2019, it created the “High-Barrier Individuals Work Group.” Now, it has launched the “High Utilizer Initiative.” This tired strategy of arresting, prosecuting, and jailing is expensive and clearly ineffective. A night in jail, according to the Seattle City Budget Office, costs more than $200. For one person for one month, that’s at least $6,000.
"The path to safety for everyone in our community requires that we address the State of Emergency of Homelessness and the Public Health Crisis of Racism. We’re disappointed that once again, the system is working to perpetuate itself, not working to help solve real problems affecting people in dire need. "
At the corner of Third Avenue and Pine Street also sits the intersection of charm and crime - that is, if you ask the city's new public safety chairman.
