- Ansel Herz
- Mayor Ed Murray says the county’s plan to let non-violent offenders out of jail while they wait to see a judge “presents an unacceptable public safety risk.”
I mentioned in today’s Morning News that King County has a new plan to release people arrested on certain non-violent felony charges while they wait to see a judge. (Instead of booking them into jail.)
KING 5 reported last night that the plan will go into effect next month, and that some in area law enforcement aren’t on board. Today, Mayor Ed Murray joined the opposition with this letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Murray writes that he has “serious concerns” with the county’s plan and that it “sends a signal to both officers and the public that the criminal justice system does not take these crimes seriously.” According to Murray, the new policy would apply to those arrested for “auto theft, hit and run (with injury), malicious mischief, reckless endangerment, stolen property, theft, vehicle prowl, and drug possession.”
Murray calls on the county to either abandon the plan—in favor of other money-saving measures, like reducing the time between arraignment and trial—or to “mitigate” its effects on public safety inside the city. (By using “remote booking,” or by making sure people from outside of Seattle are returned to wherever they’re from upon release.)
“The proposed plan will mean that suspects arrested for many serious crimes from around King County will be brought to the King County Jail, booked at the jail, and then released onto the streets of downtown Seattle within several hours of arrest,” Murray writes. “This proposed plan presents an unacceptable public safety risk to the residents of Seattle and will undermine our mutual efforts to reduce drug and property crimes.”
King County spokesperson Chad Lewis wouldn’t yet comment directly on Murray’s letter, but says the policy is the “best of bad options” because of the county’s horrific budget deficit. We’ll update this post when we know more about Constantine’s response.
UPDATE: Lewis and others from the county took to a conference call this afternoon to respond to the mayor’s letter. “[Suspects] will still be arrested, booked, and detained,” Lewis said and reiterated throughout the call. What’s changing is that the process will last “a few hours rather than a few days.” The county officials also made clear that this policy was crafted to respond to budget shortfalls, so they have no plans—or cash—to, as Murray suggested, transport inmates out of downtown.
