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MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle’s 9.5-block crime strategy working on some levels

May 9, 2016, 9:59 AM | Updated: 10:55 am

Seattle, police, policing, service officers...

(AP)

(AP)

There’s been a decrease in some crime within the 9.5 blocks since the Seattle Police Department turned its focus to last April after violence — and narcotic-related incidents — spiraled out of control.

reports there has been some success in the downtown area between First and Fourth Avenue and Union and Stewart streets. That includes a 30 percent reduction in overall crime.

Since the 9.5 block strategy began last April, the Times reports a 45 percent drop in narcotics-related calls (220 in 2014 to 112 in 2015) in downtown. Calls about suspicious circumstances dropped from 414 to 293. And robberies decreased from 91 to 59. Other criminal activity, such as assaults and thefts, have seen minor decreases as well.

The Times reports police received 9 percent fewer calls to the 9.5 blocks in 2015 compared to 2014.

Because of the effort, Westlake Park is now “an entirely different experience,” Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole told the Times.

However, some people in other neighborhoods report seeing an increase in more criminal activity since the strategy began. Though Scott Lindsay, the special assistant to Mayor Ed Murray, told the Times that the “open-air drug market” that was the 9.5 blocks did not move to another area. However, neighborhoods, such as Ballard, did see an increase in illegal activity. That includes drug deals and narcotic use, the Times reports.

Ballard Chamber of Commerce President Mike Stewart told the Times that Ballard is in need of a similar strategy as downtown.

The strategy to reduce crime has cost about $1 million, the Times reports.

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Seattle’s 9.5-block crime strategy working on some levels