Seattle residents and business owners are voicing their concerns about crime 'perpetrated on a nearly hourly basis' and say people who commit assaults reemerge after their arrests to cause further chaos. Members of the downtown Seattle community that spoke with the Puget Sound Business Journal offered their own 'horror stories' regarding crime and have called on the city to take swift action.
Pat Callahan, the CEO of Urban Renaissance Group, told the Business Journal that while there has been some improvement, the crime problem is still yet to be solved. He claimed that many tenants at his downtown property are considering leaving the area. 'Really, what's happening now is all the fentanyl use is bringing consistent crime to the area, and it's festering,' he said.
We need to regain that misdemeanor jail capacity,' Davison said. Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr also told the outlet the department has lost 400 officers and anticipates the staffing will be 'below what is needed' for the next two or three years despite hiring efforts. 'We need to get back to fighting crime. I think we got off track a little bit over the last couple of years,' she said of the 2020 defund the police movement.