At his State of the Metropolis speech earlier this week, Mayor Bruce Harrell dedicated to holding a public-safety discussion board “to listen to concepts and views immediately from the individuals of Seattle and provides them a seat on the desk in making Seattle a safer place.”
It is a good factor. The editorial board has repeatedly prompted Harrell to convene such a gathering since November 2021.
“We name on Harrell to convene a public-safety summit to assemble enter and forge a coherent technique. It is going to take the neighborhood at giant — not simply the loudest or most persistent voices — to push elected officers to recover from their variations and develop a unified plan,” we wrote.
This train shouldn’t devolve right into a neighborhood gab fest. As a substitute, Harrell should guarantee all of the gamers within the prison authorized system have a seat on the desk. Not simply police, however prosecutors, protection attorneys, judges and jail officers.
Every one should clarify their methods, values, and challenges to safeguarding public security. Group members ought to weigh in — residents and enterprise homeowners alike — to ask questions and supply suggestions.
Pinch factors and contradictions should be totally uncovered and adopted by commitments to do higher, with clear accountability requirements.
A few gadgets for the agenda: Seattle Municipal Court docket should not be rendered irrelevant as a result of defendants don’t trouble exhibiting up. The King County Jail ought to element its insurance policies round bookings and clarify why persons are turned again to the streets after arrests. Moreover, detention amenities ought to supply strong medical and behavioral well being companies and assure that persons are not discharged in the course of the night time with nowhere to go.
There may be a lot frequent floor. The political dynamic that produced fixed friction between the Seattle Metropolis Council and then-Mayor Jenny Durkan has been extensively resolved by the election of Harrell in 2021 and 6 new council members coming aboard this yr.
Regardless of all of the complexities of public security, there are foundational bedrocks: Individuals need compassionate, constitutional policing that prioritizes empathy whereas additionally defending lives and property. Legislation enforcement should be worthy of the neighborhood’s belief. Each neighborhood ought to really feel secure.
Recall the phrases of the Seattle Metropolis Constitution: “There shall be maintained enough police safety in every district of the Metropolis.”
Whereas a public-safety discussion board could also be troublesome to tug off efficiently, there may be precedent.
In 1990, Mayor Norm Rice led a citywide schooling summit with 32 neighborhood conferences and 1000’s of attendees, which ultimately paved the way in which for a profitable metropolis levy for the advantage of faculties.
In his 2020 e book, “Gaining Public Trust,” Rice wrote, “Framing questions round values first, with points second, permits for constructing frequent floor and lessening the divisiveness prevalent in right this moment’s poisonous political surroundings.”
Let these phrases information the essential work of creating Seattle safer and stronger for all. A public-safety discussion board is an efficient place to start out.