Seattle Murder Rate Lowest In Half-Century

Violent crime in Seattle dropped 9 percent last year compared with 2009, according to Seattle police.

Of the 19 homicides in the city last year, detectives made arrests in 15 — plus arrests in four additional "cold-case" killings, including one dating back to 1968, said Assistant Chief Jim Pugel, commander of the department's Investigations Bureau, at a news briefing Tuesday at police headquarters.

The city's homicide rate was the lowest since 1956, "which was the year before I was born, and I'm old,"

Police Chief John Diaz cracked.

Robberies were down 20 percent in 2010 compared with the previous year, Pugel said.

Gang-unit detectives, working with other law-enforcement agencies across the region, also recovered 69 firearms and compiled more than 90 felony cases, many of which were filed in federal court, where gang members face stiffer penalties than in state court, he said.

 

But Diaz said one troubling trend is the slight rise last year in the number of aggravated assaults, crimes that typically involve the use of deadly weapons or result in great bodily harm.

Though the 1,973 aggravated assaults committed was only a 1 percent increase over the 1,945 in 2009, "hidden in those numbers" is a trend showing a disturbing rise in assaults related to domestic violence, Diaz said.

Police are working with other city departments and community partners to understand why and determine what to do about it, he said.

Cocaine, both in powder and rock form, remains the predominant drug of choice in the city, but police also are seeing large quantities of white and brown heroin, marijuana and prescription narcotics such as OxyContin, which often make it to the streets after pharmacy robberies, Pugel said.

Assistant Chief Mike Sanford, who commands the Patrol Operations Bureau, said police have been focusing on reducing burglaries, car prowls and auto thefts — and each of the department's five precincts have created lists of their 10 most-wanted suspects in each category.

By concentrating on pattern burglars, for instance, Sanford said North Precinct officers "caught approximately one-third more burglars last year than the year before."

Diaz also noted that car thefts are way down in the city, dropping from 9,500 in 2005 to 3,400 last year.

Department statistics show a rise last year from 2009's 3,286.

Though crime-fighting remains a top priority, Sanford said officers are doing more to engage in community building and have visited residents in all 17 department-defined neighborhoods in Seattle as part of its Neighborhood View program, aimed at identifying specific concerns in different parts of the city.

Officers are now going door-to-door to "get down to more micro-neighborhoods" to interview residents about their perceptions of safety.

When officers ask residents what single safety concern needs to be addressed in their neighborhood, Sanford said people are most likely to identify simple things — like installing more lighting, painting crosswalks or cleaning up parks — that can impact their sense of security.