More people downtown, more eyes on the street. The shoplifting drug users don't feel as comfortable.

I haven't seen Methheads smoking up outside the Benaroya tunnel entry in weeks.

I see, so according to Will now that there is no possible way to rehire the officers that have left any time soon we should push all the funding into the things that activists wanted in the first place. For someone who constantly insists the SPD wasn't "defunded" it sure as heck sounds like the result was essentially the same. Programs and SPD are not mutually exclusive things. We should offer people chances to avoid future negative repercussions of their actions if they are resolute about making a change but when we are talking about people on the 20th and 30th chance I think its time to give them a time out and I would wager most of Seattle will agree with me. Looking forward to the election next year.

No. See we should totally rehire the police force that, among other insanely immoral things, attended or voiced support for the attempt to overthrow a free and fair election on Jan 6th. Because the police have so demonstrated how resolute they are about making a change by... totally not changing how they do anything at all.

@3 give me a break professor, that's ridiculous even for you. There were 6 officers on the SPD who were part of the Jan 6th mob. In 2020, there were 1094 officers employed by Seattle so that is 1/2 of 1 percent and you are going to use that to demonize the whole department? You're just letting your personal bias show through much like the good author of this piece.

“Lewis said the holistic strategy of sustained outreach has made a lasting change downtown because people JustCARE serves are no longer driven to commit crime in order to eat or afford shelter.” (Or, you know, buy drugs.)

Removing — oh, sorry, “resolving” —encampments reduces crime, but sweeps do not, because sweeps just move people around, whereas JustCARE finds permanent, stable housing? No, it does not. It provides transitional housing, which, although expensive, is neither permanent housing, nor necessarily a path to permanent housing. When the JustCARE money runs out, and their homeless populations must leave the fleabag hotels the city expensively rented, will they just wind up in encampments downtown again? ‘Tis pity the Stranger was so gobsmaked by Lewis’ smooth answer, they couldn’t ask him this question.

"She specifically called out LEAD, which the City Council failed to fully fund in its budget, as an outreach organization that has shown significant success in keeping its clients from committing additional crimes once cops refer people to the diversion program."

Lisa must have current data that none of the rest of us have. Would she be so kind as to share it?

Community court is great. It offers people a real chance to get help and turn around. Ditto drug court. But no one comes before the community court until they get arrested. Actually enforcing things like shoplifting laws will help to get people into the system. And while the “foot soldiers” may be replaceable, I bet it would get harder to replace them if they started going to jail once in a while.

"In which your intrepid reporter floats some theories as to why an apparent policy success enacted by a politician I don't like is actually... a policy FAILURE!"

Two words: cold weather. For better or worse, the season dictates exactly what kind of shit folks are apt to get up to when they're out and about. Hard to cause mischief when it's too cold to feel your hands after a few minutes of exposure.

More police presence, more arrests, enforcing the law = less crime. Pretty simple actually.... and golly it worked downtown...and its working in south center. Wow...what a new flash.

Now if we can get the City AG office to prosecute and jail them, we'll see even further reduction in the crime rate... as last I saw its hard to commit the crime when you are in a cell downtown or in a prison.

Finally, round up the homeless, vagrants, drifters, drug addicts and get them treatment in communal housing... They don't need a hotel room, individual micro housing or government housing ... putting them in individual housing where they can shoot up or mess up isn't on the menu ...and it doesn't work.

They need treatment first... a plain simple barrack with cots will suffice along with a firm treatment plan. Its not elegant, Its not pretty but there are limits to what we as taxpayer will pay for and put up with.... Don't worry the barracks systems works just fine... we have million of enlisted in the military who can attest to this.

Give them a choice.... It either treatment or a 6 x 8 cell with a bunkmate... let them choose.