SEATTLE — Seattle’s Public Safety Committee is considering amendments to one of its city drug ordinances in order to combat the continued issue of open air drug use in the city.
The city has previously passed several ordinances to combat open-air drug use and facilitate treatment, but Seattle Police Department (SPD) data presented to the city in April indicates these existing measures are not achieving their intended goals.
The proposed amendments by the Public Safety Committee aim to address these ongoing challenges. From 2024 to 2025, arrests rose 47% while diversions dropped 30%, according to data from SPD.
Public Safety chair, councilman Bob Kettle, is advocating for changes to the current city ordinance, arguing that previous ordinances are insufficient.
Kettle is pushing for amendments that would grant police officers more flexibility to involve staff with the Purpose, Dignity and Action (PDA) organization and other service providers in specific field cases.
He is also pushing for more data to be collected when it comes to referrals, participation, outcomes, and participant demographics are collected and maintained, and be readily accessible to city departments, including SPD, the Office of the Inspector General for Public Safety, the city auditor and the mayor’s office.
“So the bill here is to provide that clarity because it is so important for the officers to be clear, to have clear direction in terms of what they are looking to do,” Kettle said.
He further explained that this clarity is crucial for decisions on whether to pursue diversion or jail time, especially when dealing with drug markets.
“Whether to go forward with diversion and those cases where it’s appropriate or jail and this really goes in dealing with the drug markets,” Kettle added.
Some council members, including Councilmember Debora Juarez, still had reservations regarding the proposed changes during Tuesday’s public safety committee meeting.
Juarez questioned the potential decision-making process for officers.
“Maybe they don’t make the right decision if somebody either doesn’t want treatment or would rather have a ticket or says ‘I will show up in court,’” Juarez said.
Lacey, who lives in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, described the pervasive nature of drug use in her area.
“There’s plenty of drug use, especially right where I live in this corner,” Lacey said. “I think that anything that’s going to be more humanizing to the people that are going through this process of addiction and trying to get off it is going to be better.”
The Public Safety Committee is scheduled to vote on the proposed ordinance on July 28.
If approved by the committee, the ordinance will proceed to a full City Council vote on Aug. 4.
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