by Kirby Laney, posted 12 June 2018
In May, at Ivar’s Salmon House, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce hosted a public safety meeting. Seattle Police Department (SPD) North Precinct Commander, Captain Sean O’Donnell, spoke with assembled business owners and residents, sharing suggestions and insights into how we can all contribute to keeping our community safe.
Captain O’Donnell brought several officers with him, most of them already well-known to the audience as Community Policing liaisons. He also introduced himself, as a native-born Seattleite who joined the SPD in 1981 and has had command of the North Precinct for nearly three years.
The North Precinct covers, according to Captain O’Donnell, the largest area of the city. It extends from the Lake Washington Ship Canal north to 145th Street, and “from fresh water to salt water,” as he described the area from Ballard to Sandpoint. The North Precinct serves this area with 225 officers that cover three watches, 24 hours a day, responding to 9-1-1 emergency calls and providing a proactive patrol. They also engage in other, specialty services including bike patrol, burglary/theft investigations, and community police teams.
Helping The Homeless
“By communicating and collaborating we get our best work done,” Captain O’Donnell stated. His remarks focused on ways that, by reporting and communicating with the SPD, and the City, we can improve safety in our neighborhood for everyone here.
“The job of police officer has changed significantly,” Captain O’Donnell observed. “Many of the people we are dealing with are in crisis,” he said, “When we see criminal behavior, we take action,” yet, as they deal with people struggling with mental health and/or drug problems, he explained, “sometimes there are better ways to help than enforcement.”
Many meeting attendees came with concerns about homelessness, and the criminal element that hides in plain sight within the homeless community. Since the election of Mayor Jenny Durkan last fall, Captain O’Donnell mentioned, the SPD has had new programs and policies being introduced, to assist those in need of shelter.
Captain O’Donnell mentioned two specific teams working directly to help those on the streets:
- Navigation Team – Members of the SPD work on this team, alongside REACH workers (nurses, social workers, addiction recovery experts, etc.) The Team can access city resources through connections with departments such as transportation, fleets & facilities, and Seattle Fire. With their specialty tools and knowledge, the Team reach out to those on the streets to address individual issues and, hopefully, assist them into shelter, and stability.
- LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) – Originally established as a pilot-program in the Belltown neighborhood, this King County partnership is potentially being relocated into the North Precinct. It is intended to address low-level drug and prostitution offenders, and to redirect them to community-based treatment and support services rather than prosecution and jail. The LEAD team can help drug users and sex workers with housing, healthcare, job training, treatment, and mental health support. LEAD workers can also help fund, or find, repairs to RVs and trailers unable to relocate due to mechanical problems.
“We are trying to work in a more holistic way,” Captain O’Donnell acknowledged, “encouraging campers to move,” rather than criminalizing homelessness. However, this has made the campers a moving target, shifting their problems from one area to another.
Alternative Safety Solutions
Captain O’Donnell encouraged citizens to report problems. He directed those experiencing serious safety situations to call 9-1-1. He also offered alternate solutions, outside imminent danger situations:
- Endangering Encampments – Captain O’Donnell recommended use of the Seattle ‘Find It, Fix It’ App for reporting camps, or piles of trash/drug paraphernalia, impeding access or causing hazards. “Constant reporting is good,” he recommended, especially with photos, as the reports arrive with time and date. This gives the Navigation Team a reference. This does not guarantee removal of an encampment, as that depends on the location and the severity of the safety concern. He did observe that this App, “is one of the main tools we have now.”
- Parking Enforcement for RVs & Trailers – Parking enforcement watches over street campers, but this department is not on 24 hours. They monitor vehicles, and all calls help them track and maintain awareness of vehicle locations. Captain O’Donnell did urge that when a vehicle’s inhabitants create immediate threats to safety call 9-1-1.
Of course, even with a 9-1-1 call, “often times, we cannot take immediate action,” Captain O’Donnell observed. The SPD receive a lot of calls, and complaints, about RVs, and they have to evaluate the situation, and staffing, on a case by case basis.
- Prosecution– During the question-and-answer portion of this meeting a few people expressed their frustration with recent experiences where SPD responded and caught criminals (a sex offender in one instance, and a shoplifting team in another,) only to see the criminals return to the streets a few days later. Captain O’Donnell explained that the City Attorney determines the seriousness of certain crimes, and has refused to prosecute what they determine are misdemeanor offenders. The City Attorney, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney, have the ultimate say on which crimes they will prosecute.
- Emphasis Patrol – “Summer is our busy time,” Captain O’Donnell acknowledged, and several people agreed that it is also a busy time in Fremont. Captain O’Donnell reported that the SPD emphasis patrols will include the Fremont nightlife areas this season.
- Crime Prevention Assistance – Captain O’Donnell recommended Crime Prevention Coordinator Mary Amberg as a resource for businesses seeking advice on safety measures to prevent shoplifting, and keep employees safe. CPC Amberg can also talk to residents about Block Watch, and training in crime prevention strategies. All of Amberg’s services, training and evaluations are free.
- Shoplifting/Robbery – These are a real concern, especially as property crime stats remain high. “If a physical assault occurs,” Captain O’Donnell explained, about shoplifting, “it is a robbery.” Contact Crime Prevention Assistance to learn ways to avoid seeing situations escalate – or occurring at all.
- Car Prowls – While these are down 20% from last year, they remain a huge problem especially as one prowler can hit five cars in a row, on a single street or parking lot. Still, the perpetrators are more likely to prowl a vehicle if they see something of value (or perceived value,) inside. “Don’t make it easier,” Captain O’Donnell advised, “don’t leave things in your car. Please put things away. Take your laptop with you!”
Overall, A State Of The Precinct
Captain O’Donnell reported on the crime statistics, which reflect not only those situations in which an officer responds, but everything called in to 9-1-1. Overall, he reported, crime is down 4% in North Seattle, and 2% city-wide, although commercial and property crimes are going up.
Staffing at the North Precinct remains flat, although there is significant attrition going on, largely from retirement. However, replacing officers isn’t simply a matter of hiring. Seattle is given seven slots in the State training academy. Even if the city has qualified, willing candidates to fill all those slots, not everyone who begins training will pass the rigorous program.
Long-term, Captain O’Donnell hopes the North Precinct will be assigned 50 additional officers. As to the small, and aging, North Precinct facility, Captain O’Donnell reported that “efforts to build a new precinct are on-hold for 7 to 10 years.” For now, they have made changes to the existing campus, to increase efficiency and parking, and with the addition of portable buildings they’ve been able to create a better roll call area.
“We are in an extraordinary political climate,” Captain O’Donnell observed. The City is currently searching for a new Police Chief, after Kathleen O’Toole left in January. Currently SPD veteran Carmen Best is serving as Interim Chief. Soon an announcement is expected on who the Mayor’s team will select as the permanent replacement. Captain O’Donnell did announce, with pride, that as of January, Judge Robart has found the SPD in ‘full and effective compliance’ with the Department of Justice consent decree from 2012.
Finally, the facilitator for this safety meeting, and Fremont Chamber Board President, Pete Hanning mentioned the North Precinct Advisory Council, on which he served for 17 years. Neighborhood representatives meet monthly to discuss community safety concerns with SPD representatives (including Captain O’Donnell,) along with scheduling opportunities to address the City Attorney’s office, the Washington State Liquor & Cannabis Board, Seattle Fire, etc.
Ultimately, Captain O’Donnell encouraged engagement among citizens and SPD officers. “Please communicate with us,” he finished. Contacting the SPD with concerns makes it easier for them to collaborate with us, and help us make Fremont, and Seattle, a better, and safer, city.
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©2018 Kirby S. Laney. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.