Extra police officers on foot — and bike — will patrol Pike/Pine this weekend as part of a “late night public safety emphasis” announced by City Hall and SPD brass this week:
The emphasis calls for the redeployment of on-duty Seattle Police officers throughout the city to promote uniformed police visibility in areas with high concentrations of people enjoying Friday and Saturday nightlife opportunities.
This emphasis fits within the goals set forth with the Seattle Nightlife Initiative, which include increasing public safety, growing the local economy and improving urban vibrancy. People travel from all over Puget Sound to Seattle to visit restaurants, theaters, shopping centers and nightclubs. They bring with them their entertainment dollars keeping our local businesses strong and providing valuable tax dollars to fund important city programs that serve all Seattle residents.
The Late Night Public Safety Emphasis is simply a recalibration of priorities that puts more uniformed officers on the streets without sacrificing any existing missions within the police department. Police personnel assigned to the program will be taken from other non-uniformed on-duty resources – specifically Anti-Crime Teams, Traffic and SWAT. The end result is more uniformed officers on the streets deterring crime and promoting public safety in areas with high concentrations of people enjoying Friday and Saturday nightlife opportunities. It is flexible and scalable for every neighborhood in the city.
On any given Friday or Saturday night, the additional 15-25 uniformed officers will be patrolling designated nightlife zones, usually in two different precincts at any given time. During the course of the summer, each precinct will get a fair share of these resources. Having additional patrols in areas where people gather makes sense. People feel safer when they see uniformed officers on patrol.
The East Precinct zones will be Pike/Pine above Broadway and S Jackson in the Central District:
- East:Broadway Ave. E to 12 Ave. E / E. Madison St to E. Pine St.
- 28th Ave. S. and S. Jackson St. to include one block in each direction
While the emphasis patrols that began last summer were spurred by violent incidents in Belltown, Capitol Hill had a busy spring and summer of street muggings and robberies in addition to some violent assaults during altercations in and around Pike/Pine and Broadway. This year, the Hill has been relatively quiet on both fronts thus far — perhaps credit the crappy weather.
City officials did not say what criteria were used in selecting the 12 zones across Seattle. While the Pike/Pine zone is flush with bars, clubs and theaters, the other area selected for patrol in the East Precinct, for example, has no such venues but is a popular hangout area partly due to the large parking lots at 23rd and Jackson.
Officers from SWAT and traffic will be deployed for the patrols that will go into the wee hours of the morning. “This is about redeploying existing assets so that the right people are in the right place at the right time,” Chief John Diaz said in a statement.. “This will be done without sacrificing any existing missions within the police department. This is the type of effort needed when the city has fewer dollars to spend than in the past.”
