Rainier Beach Community Gives Input on Public Safety Ahead of Mayor's One Seattle Plan Release
by Lauryn Bray
Fifty percent of people who participated in a public safety forum at Rainier Beach Community Center said they feel "very safe" living in Rainier Beach, 46% said they felt "somewhat safe," and 4% said "very unsafe."
Before the discussion began, forum attendees were asked to use their smartphones to take an online poll. Questions were designed to gauge how safe attendees feel in their neighborhood.
"I'm curious to hear from the 4% — what makes you feel unsafe in this area? For those folks, this is a great time to lift up your solutions and your ideas," said Dominique Stephens, forum facilitator and strategic advisor for Mayor Bruce Harrell.
Representatives from 13 different City departments and residents of the Rainier Beach neighborhood gathered at the community center Tuesday night, May 7, to participate in a public safety community forum in anticipation of the upcoming release of the mayor's comprehensive plan for his One Seattle Public Safety Framework (OSPSF).
"Tonight, we have 13 different city departments here with you, and they're going to be here to work on public safety and finding solutions," Stephens said.
The second of five community forums, feedback from this and subsequent forums will be considered for the drafting of a comprehensive plan that will outline approaches for meeting the six goals of the Public Safety Framework.
The six goals of the OSPSF are to:
- Reduce gun violence and other violent crimes with evidence-based solutions and enforcement strategies.
- Respond to 911 calls efficiently and effectively by hiring more officers and diversifying response options.
- Address the root causes and impacts of violence by investing in community-based solutions and upstream interventions.
- Prioritize a public health and trauma-informed approach to reduce overdoses, reduce violence, and better support victims and survivors.
- Coordinate community safety efforts to avoid duplication and inefficiencies by breaking down silos between departments.
- Build and maintain community trust through strong accountability systems and community engagement on law enforcement priorities.
Stephens directed attendees to refer back to these goals throughout the discussion.
"Earlier in April, the mayor's office shared the OSPSF," said Stephens, "and you can look at those frameworks and the purpose of these meetings [to] help you frame some of your issues and questions, and maybe some of your ideas."
There were seven tables, each with at least one representative from a participating City department. There were two tables for Seattle Police Department (SPD) and community, and one table for diversified response, transportation safety, and youth liaison. The diversified response table comprised representatives from Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) department, SPD Alternative Response Team, and Seattle Park Rangers. Representatives from SDOT and King County Metro were seated at the transportation safety table. SPD Youth Liaison and the Department of Education and Early Learning acted as youth liaisons.
Following the conclusion of the poll, attendees were instructed to engage in discussion, starting first at the table where they were presently seated. A scribe took notes at each table as people spoke, and after about 15 minutes, attendees were to rotate to another table.
At one of the SPD tables, community members questioned why detention facilities do not provide pathways to education for individuals while they are incarcerated and asked what it might take to provide inmates with trade school certification programs while in custody.
A concerned community member asked Garth Haynes, one of the officers representing SPD, to explain why police did not respond to her numerous calls reporting an alleged organized, mobile drug operation in her neighborhood, involving teens.
"They are often employing young children — as young as 12 or 13 — to go run the fentanyl up and down the street. We had an encampment for almost five months that moved around — it was a mobile, drug-dealing RV," one community member said at the SPD table to Haynes. "I reached out to you — I reached out to SPD. I reached out to parking enforcement. All day, all night deals, open fentanyl use, and kids running drugs here and there."
SPD crime prevention coordinator Mark Solomon responded that in order to dismantle organized operations, they must "go upstream" to find the root cause.
If you are interested in participating in upcoming public safety community forums, the next one will be in North Seattle at the Bitter Lake Community Center on May 9 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Following that will be two more forums — one in Southwest Seattle at Concord Elementary School on May 14 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and the final forum will be in West Seattle at Queen Anne Community Center on May 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Lauryn Bray is a writer and reporter for the South Seattle Emerald. She has a degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from CUNY Hunter College. She is from Sacramento, California, and has been living in King County since June 2022.
📸 Featured Image: South Seattle residents engage with City officials Tuesday night, May 7, at a public safety forum at Rainier Beach Community Center. Input from the forum will help shape Mayor Bruce Harrell's comprehensive plan for his One Seattle Public Safety Framework. (Photo: Phil Manzano)
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