Editor's note: We recorded this episode before Mayor Katie Wilson announced her plan to reduce gun violence this week. Wilson's plan emphasizes community violence interruption, as opposed to the "focused deterrence" approach that CM Maritza Rivera has been advocating. Although Wilson has expressed support for some form of focused deterrence, she does not support CM Rivera's resolution. And the plan she announced this week doesn't include the core law-enforcement deterrence consequences that have been a linchpin of focused deterrence programs in the many cities where the approach has been successful.

Crime is down, but Seattleites are anxious about public safety after a series of high-profile shootings. Business leaders are demanding action and critics are questioning Mayor Katie Wilson's approach.

This week, co-hosts David Hyde, Erica C. Barnett and Sandeep Kaushik ask: Is the media being unfair to Seattle's mayor on this issue? Or are there legitimate questions about her approach to public safety?

Then we get into the latest City Hall fight: Councilmember Maritza Rivera wants Seattle to try “focused deterrence,” an approach that targets the tiny percentage of people that studies have shown are most likely to be involved in (or victims of) serious violence in cities across the United States, via an integrated, unified front approach that combines community leaders, social service providers, and police. Rivera is proposing that the city spend $418,000 to bring in national experts to help Seattle do it. Wilson rejected the proposal in a recent KUOW interview as “grandstanding and politicking.” The community violence intervention approach that she is currently backing, in contrast to focused deterrence, involves deploying former gang members or others with lived experience of violence as ambassadors and outreach workers who proactively engage with at risk youth and young adults, and does not integrate police into that outreach effort.

Read more about the mayor's new plan here: KUOW: Seattle mayor's new gun violence reduction plan pushes prevention over police

And for more insight into the policy differences between advocates for focused deterrence and more progressive, law enforcement-skeptical advocates for community violence interruption approaches, we recommend reading:

Greg Berman, "No Program is a Panacea: The Fate of Focused Deterrence," Vital City, Jan 15, 2022.

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In the latest episode, with David away at an undisclosed (but no doubt bougie) location, Erica and Sandeep are (re-)joined by friend of the pod Daniel Malone, Executive Director of Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), Seattle's largest shelter, housing and behavioral health homelessness services provider.

In the episode, Daniel provides us with a first anniversary update on DESC's Opioid Recovery & Care Access (ORCA) Center, which Daniel tells us has been a major success, with 10,000(!) encounters with people experiencing addiction in Year One (either at its fixed site at the Morrison Hotel on 3rd and Yesler, or through its ORCA POD community outreach efforts). And the vast majority of those people are either currently or recently homeless, with many initiating Medically Assisted Treatment for opioid addiction via buprenorphine or methadone.

Then the conversation turns to an update on DESC's STAR Center, a successor to the Navigation Center that used to be located in Little Saigon. In its new location, the STAR Center is now a 95 bed facility that fills a crucial gap in the city's homelessness response system, typically providing medium-term shelter for people experiencing serious behavioral health instability. Once those issues come under better control residents move on to housing or lower acuity shelters -- typically after about 90 days.

Finally, we turn to Daniel for an update on the ongoing saga of the Trump administration's efforts to sharply reduce funding for Housing First programs in Seattle and around the country. The lawsuits are ongoing, Daniel says, and so far have been able to stave off big local funding cuts to homelessness services. But the cuts are likely coming, and the City and County continue to work with providers to identify local funding to backfill the expected loss of federal funds.

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Seattle has had nine police chiefs in seventeen years. Now the carousel is spinning again as Mayor Katie Wilson launches the hunt for yet another leader for SPD.

With the messy, hasty exit of Shon Barnes still fresh, we have to ask: Who actually wants this job? We break down the search, the political stakes for Mayor Wilson, and whether Seattle is doomed to repeat the same hiring mistakes.

We also get into Erica's story about interim Chief Andre Sayles, who filed a potentially career-ending complaint against a veteran hate-crimes detective for speaking at a pro-LGBTQ rally, despite having permission to do so. The complaint was quickly dismissed, but the episode raises serious questions about Sayles' judgment as Seattle searches for its next permanent chief.

Then, layoffs are hitting the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) hard. We unpack the chaotic rollout and the awkward reality of an agency that's slowly being gutted while officials avoid saying the quiet part out loud.

Plus, for our Patreon supporters only: A candidate meltdown saga. Losing candidate Ron Davis has released another manifesto blaming The Stranger's “cheat sheet” for the fact that he came up short. We take a closer look at his use of stats and wonder if there might be some additional explanations. Hear that along with our entire episode by signing up to become a Seattle Nice member on https://www.patreon.com/seattlenice.

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.