Office of the City Auditor Releases New Report With Recommendations for Addressing Overdoses and Crime

by Lauryn Bray

The Office of the City Auditor released a new report recommending solutions for addressing places within the City of Seattle where high incidents of overdose and crime commonly occur.

The audit, released Tuesday, July 9, was conducted in response to a request from Mayor Bruce Harrell and then-Council President Debora Juarez. In 2023 Juarez asked for a report examining evidence-based solutions for addressing areas in the city with high occurrences of crime and drug overdose and identifying existing resources and strategies that have proven effective in other jurisdictions tackling similar issues.

"This data-driven audit confirms what is obvious to many: Today's fentanyl-driven drug crisis is fueling property and violent crime," said current Council President Sara Nelson in a press release. "We must rethink our current approach to addressing addiction and its impact on our communities, and I urge the Executive and my Council colleagues to act quickly and collaboratively to implement the audit's recommendations."

The audit begins by outlining some of the conditions that have led to the progression of addiction in Seattle, such as the fact that the street price of fentanyl is reported by law enforcement to be less than a dollar per tablet, and that the overall frequency of drug use has increased because the high fentanyl produces does not last long.

It also identifies areas where overdose events and crimes against persons significantly overlap. After looking at Seattle Police Department's (SPD) data on overdose incidents and crimes against persons responded to by the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) from July 2022 to July 2023, the auditor's office found that 10 continuous street segments had disproportionate incidents of overdoses and crime against persons.

From most to least incidents, the locations included in the audit are mainly downtown: Pike Street from 2nd Avenue to 5th Avenue; 3rd Avenue from Union Street to Pine Street; 3rd Avenue from Jefferson Street to Marion Street; 3rd Avenue from Virginia Street to Battery Street; Pine Street from 2nd Avenue to 5th Avenue; Broadway from East Union Street to East Pine Street; 9th Avenue from Alder Street to Jefferson Street; 4th Avenue from Union Street to Pine Street; South Jackson Street from 10th Avenue South to Rainier Avenue South; and East Pike Street from 9th Avenue to 11th Avenue.

Each of these locations had over 100 incidents, and there are two locations, Pike Street from 2nd Avenue to 5th Avenue and 3rd Avenue from Union Street to Pine Street, with over three times as many incidents with 352 and 344 incidents respectively.

The audit makes the following eight recommendations to the mayor's office:

• Adopt the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) place-based Strategic Prevention Framework.
• Use Snohomish County's Multi-Agency Coordination Group as a model framework for coordinating City agencies in a unified approach.
• Identify a "project champion" to oversee the City's efforts to address crime and overdose hot spots.
• Collaborate with the Office of Emergency Management, SFD, SPD, and other stakeholders to establish a coordination system with well-defined objectives, goals, and reporting mechanisms.
• Formalize an ongoing City relationship with Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area's Overdose Response Strategy group.
• Lead the City's implementation of the Overdose Mapping and Application Program (ODMAP).
• Consult with SPD and federal partners to explore the establishment of a joint law enforcement task force for fatal overdoses.
• Ensure that the City regularly evaluates its efforts to address places where overdoses and crime are concentrated as required by proven problem-solving methodologies.

The audit also recommends crime and overdose prevention strategies, like increasing guardianship, improving street lighting, and building capacity for community-based solutions.

"Today's audit offers a thoughtful and thorough look at a key public safety challenge that some of our communities face on a daily basis with seemingly little to no improvement," said Councilmember Bob Kettle in the press release. "These public safety challenges won't go away unless the City takes additional meaningful action that includes a coordinated effort to address permissive factors at the intersection of public safety and public health."

📸 Featured Image: Seattle Police detectives and federal law enforcement seized approximately 30,000 fentanyl pills in an arrest of a man last year suspected of being a large supplier of fentanyl in King County. (Photo: Seattle Police Department Blotter)