5
Provide Services Before Crimes Happen
Currently, our system is reactive. Once an individual has committed enough crimes, they become eligible for services. But we need more upstream support. This looks like emergency rental assistance that catches people before they get evicted and lose their housing. This looks like in-depth re-entry planning when inmates are released from jail. This looks like continuing support for individuals who are exiting the foster care system. And this looks like substance abuse treatment for people who are ready to make a big change in their life.
6
Lift Up the Voice of Victims
Lift Up the Voice of Victims
While black and brown people are overrepresented in our inmate population, they are also overrepresented as victims of crime. We need to be responsive to the needs of black and brown people. This means supporting our victims’ compensation funds, but it also means giving victims a voice in the criminal legal process. Sometimes, bringing a perpetrator and a victim together, so the victim can express the harm they have suffered and the perpetrator can have an opportunity to correct that harm, will help the community heal. Too often, our criminal legal system structures prevent the possibility of community healing. When victims want community healing rather than a purely punitive response, we need to listen.
7
Invest in our Therapeutic Court System
Therapeutic courts bring together prosecutors, public defenders, and service providers to develop plans that will ensure individuals receive the services they need to disengage from the criminal legal system. In a Trumpian slash and burn move, our current city attorney closed community court with no notice and without giving the stakeholders an opportunity to respond to concerns about the court. As city attorney I will build out our therapeutic court system and prioritize accountability.
8
Ensure Better Outcomes When People are Released from Jail
King County Jail is a disaster. The physical structure is old, it has been difficult to hire corrections officers, and far too many inmates have died in custody. We don't even have a system to ensure that our jails meet minimum health and safety standards. Fortunately, we can build out programs based on existing models that have a proven track record. The Washington State Department of Corrections has begun to send staff members to corrections facilities in northern European countries that operate under a completely different framework. These systems prioritize rehabilitation and reintegration. Inmates have access to private rooms, recreational facilities, and opportunities for social interaction and they strive for a sense of normalcy. As a result, people released from these facilities have a much lower recidivism rate, and they have a better work environment for staff. As city attorney, I will work to modernize and improve our jails based on these success stories.
1
Improve 9-1-1 Response Times
Currently, 9-1-1 dispatchers have only two choices, send a police officer with a badge and a gun, or send medics and the fire department. There’s a better way. People who experience mental health or substance abuse crises should receive care from a mental health professional. Fortunately we have a CARE team that is trained to do just that. Unfortunately, the CARE team is limited to only certain locations within the city and they can only respond to a call if police officers make that request. I will renegotiate our contracts to ensure that the CARE team can respond to people in mental health crises, freeing up police officers to respond more quickly to true public safety threats.
2
Clear the DUI Backlog
In 2019, the median time between arrest and filing of a DUI case was five days. Under Ann Davison, the median time has ballooned to 85 days and in a number of cases DUIs have been remained unfiled for more than a year. In fact, there are multiple instances of people committing a DUI, the police forward the case to the city attorney’s office, and the individual commits another DUI months later before the city attorney has even filed the first case. This is unacceptable. As City Attorney I will prioritize DUI cases and clear the backlog. I will hold people responsible who put our lives at risk by driving under the influence.
3
Support Survivors of Domestic Violence
As a legal aid attorney I have represented survivors of domestic violence. One common theme in these cases is that the abuser will often threaten the survivor, sometimes even threatening death, if the survivor reports the abuse to police. When a survivor has made a safety plan and they are ready to talk to the police, the city attorney’s office needs to move quickly to file charges and protect the survivor. One of my first actions as city attorney will be to staff up the domestic violence unit in order to ensure the swift filing of charges.
4
Build Out Programs for Recovery
In Seattle and King County we have nation leading programs like LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) and REACH (Reduce Harm, Support Healing). The county has also started to build out the crisis care centers, places that will be available for people who have immediate needs. But we still need more. We need spaces where unhoused people can access all the services they need in one place. And the City Attorney’s Office needs to be engaging with and supporting these programs. These are the programs that tackle some of the most difficult and persistent public safety issues we experience as a city.
