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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

How Safe Do You Feel?

News   November 17, 2009 at 3:30 pm Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

The city just released the results of its bi-annual community survey of police and, depending on how you interpret the data, it’s not great news.

As you can see in the delicious-looking pie chart below, about 1/5 of Seattle residents don’t feel safe in their own neighborhoods.

Other data shows that 23% of those surveyed said they avoided going downtown because of crime, and that concerns over racial profiling by police have risen in the last two years.

According to the survey, while 70% of those polled think that crime has stayed about the same in Seattle, despite concerns about gangs and statistical increases in property crimes like burglaries and car prowls. However, when you take into account the fact that the department has spent millions of dollars rapidly been hiring and deploying new officers in the last two years, it’s probably not great that 26% of those polled think crime is on the rise, while only 4% think it’s decreasing.

Generally, people think police are doing a good job, the survey says. However, data shows that people are increasingly dissatisfied with how they’re treated by police when reporting a crime. In 2005, 81% of those polled said they were treated professionally and respectfully by officers. In 2007, that number dipped to 80%. Now, it’s dropped to 79%. 44% of survey respondents also believe excessive force is a problem at SPD, while 43% said the same thing about racial profiling. More than a third of those surveyed also believe police stop people without cause.

The whole report can be found in the link below (warning: PDF!).




  • misha

    I’m disappointed that the data doesn’t break out results by women vs. men. In my experience, in many neighborhoods, especially in south Seattle, the sidewalks and buses are filled with nearly 100% men (or women with men) outside of working hours, because women don’t feel safe and are harassed if they go out in public. It makes me feel like I’m in Saudi Arabia.

    I am certain that the vast majority of that 20% who don’t feel safe are women. This is a social justice and women’s rights issue, not just a public safety issue.

  • Gwen C.

    SPD will not respond to massive swaths of Lake City, Rainier Beach, and the Rainier Valley if your house gets broken into , your car gets stolen, or you hear gunfire. (they always cite “there’s a missing child” even though that’s a lie, or such a generalized truth that it’s effectively a lie…there’s always a missing child, sadly) I was told that if i didn’t like it, i should move. Trouble is, those are the three affordable neighborhoods in Seattle anymore…so how am i supposed to swing this again?

    Yet at the same time they routinely cruise the street every other hour, since God forbid they come by any more, to harass young Black men for walking too far from the curb on a street with no sidewalks.

    The SPD is a failure. It’s full of dangerous loose cannons and people who don’t care about quality of life crimes and instead have lost focus entirely. Yet when there’s a fire call, the SFD can show up in scant seconds and be friendly and polite over matters large or small. I don’t get why the SPD can’t pull off basic crime response but the fire department is a sterling example of civic service…in the same city.

  • Tiffany

    My house was broken into last week. I live by myself and was shaking and scared standing by my back door when I called 911. The house was dark and I honestly didn’t know if someone was waiting for me in there. My dogs were freaking out.

    The 911 operator just said she’d “get someone out there”.

    Fortunately, the response time of my friends is much better than the police. About 10 minutes later we walked through the house and took stock of the damage. An hour and half after my initial 911 call my friend called 911 and asked if anyone was ever going to show up. The response from the operator was “are you still standing by the back door?”(thinking she was talking to me)

    WHAT?? They are so casual about the whole thing that they were content with leaving me sitting by my back door alone and scared? Nice one, SPD.

    At the same time, another friend who was en route (an hour and half into it) pulled up next to a cruiser a few blocks away. He was just tooling along on MLK — no real destination. THANKS, SPD!

    Another hour later (now 2.5 hours after my initial call) 2 cops showed up. They were friendly and I found out there had just been a shift change. So, basically, I could have been assaulted in my own home because the cops on duty at the time were too goddamn lazy to fill out another report before the end of their shift.

    It’s disgusting. Makes me realize I’m really on my own out here in S. Seattle and will be solely responsible for my safety.

  • Kinkos

    i feel for you – i had the same thing happen to me a few years ago. the burglar actually CAME BACK while i was waiting, and the 911 dispatcher / SPD did not seem to think it was a problem. the line i got from the cop was “welcome to rainier valley”.

    sadly, dominos has a better response time than the SPD

  • jackie thomas

    buy a gun, protect yourself, unless the cop gets to tackle taze or shoot someone they will not show up. unless a suspect is their, they will not come and help you. they dont care if you get your whole house taken, they dont feel responsible. now if you would of said the suspect is still in the house…WITH A GUN… theyd be their in 5 minute tops, cuffing or shooting someone, or calling SWAT.

  • Lori Theis

    Is this why the UW Police dept. gives such VAGUE descriptions of armed robbers? As a student at UW I am constantly made aware by the UW Police of the crimes committed on and around campus. Strangely, we are never given a physical description of these criminals-only gender. What “sensitive community” is the UW Police afraid it will offend by giving a description? It does absolutely no good; serves no purpose- to warn us about a criminal “on the loose” if we haven’t even the remotest idea what they look like!!!

  • enough

    I live in SE Seattle and feel safe during the day, but I would never leave my place when it’s dark. I miss out on so many things due to the fact I take the bus everywhere. I’m female, btw. Older, too.

    On another note, my neighbors were broken into and it took the cops 3 hours to respond. That’s just not right. I hope they read this site and comments like mine and others wake them up.

  • Map

    Lori:
    Build, gender, height, age and CLOTHES are enough to keep you safe, and accurately on the lookout for trouble, Lori. Hair color and skin color are secondary, since we don’t live in one big nudist colony.
    Besides, Someone tells me there’s a ‘black mugger’ on the loose, that doesn’t help me: 8%-10% of the city could fit that description – it’d be as useful as saying ‘there’s a blonde committing crimes’. Tell me there’s a male, 30-35, blue coat and chuck taylors, 6′ and 200-250#, and I’ll nail the guy, regardless of how tanned his skin is or whether he bleaches his hair or not.

  • Map

    the old joke:
    Gal calls the police about a thief in her detached garage. She sees or hears the guy. ‘Please send someone right way, I’m scared -Hurry! How long till you get here??’ she says.
    Dispatch answers “miss, stay calm and wait – we can’t get anyone out there for 20 to 30 minutes, but we’ll get there.
    “I could be dead by then!! There’s no way to get here earlier??” she pleads.
    Dispatch: “No. Best thing to do is help yourself: Stay calm and call if there’s any change.” The gal’s jaw drops. This is unbelievable.
    In a few minutes, the enraged gal calls back with a good plan:
    “Hey, remember me? I’m the one that called about the burglary in my garage? Took your advice, helped myself: Nevermind – don’t hurry. I got my gun and shot him myself. Thanks anyway.” and hangs up.
    2 squad cars arrive in 4 minutes. The cops find the thief, sans bullet holes, and arrest him, and then come knock on the door.
    “uh, Ma’am? I thought you said you shot him…?”
    ” Yeah and I thought you said it wouldn’t be any sooner than 20 minutes… ” she shrugged. “You lied; I lied.”

    (( Plan B likely turns into some sourpuss court BS, of course: Immature logic would dictate that Plan B works best if you have a squirt gun you can produce on scene to prove you did indeed ‘shoot at him’. ;) Might get a grin outta the judge anyway.)

    Plan B: a variation on the joke might work: Tell them ‘fine then’, you think you’re going in to save your baby/cat/grandma/twin. And you’ve “got a weapon”. and then “Oh no, I think I hear him now”. Hang up. Immediately mute the phone and go and wait in a safe place – like the neighbor’s across the street, or your car parked far away but in view. Cops ask: tell them it was a moment of bravado that faded fast, but thanks so much for coming quickly. Suspicion of intruder ranks lower than violence promised? Fine: promise violence.