Seattle Public Safety Committee Meeting: CARE Department Update, Neighborhood Impact Framework, and Public Safety Metrics - June 9, 2026
Seattle Public Safety Committee Meeting: CARE Department Update, Neighborhood Impact Framework, and Public Safety Metrics - June 9, 2026
The Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee met on June 9, 2026, from 9:32 AM to 11:47 AM in the Council Chamber. Chair Robert Kettle presided with members Rob Saka, Debora Juarez, and Maritza Rivera present; Eddie Lin arrived late. The committee heard two information items: an overview of the draft CARE Department update ordinance and the Seattle Neighborhood Impact Framework (SNIF). A third item on SPD Q1 staffing and performance metrics was not heard. Public comment focused heavily on the Aurora Avenue sex trafficking and gun violence crisis, with 13 speakers (5 in-person, 8 remote) addressing the committee.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Becca (in-person): Resident of 100th Street between Aurora and Linden. Expressed that neighbors feel disenfranchised due to traffic rerouting from blocked streets. Reported shootings, trafficking, and a recent shooting at a bus stop. Asked for an equitable solution for all streets west of Aurora.
- Tamara Schadel (in-person): Community social worker, resident of Seattle for two years. Stated that gun violence is a byproduct of child sex trafficking on Aurora. Criticized lack of enforcement against pimps, contrasting with Bellevue's quick arrest. Urged focus on child sex trafficking.
- Jeff Silverman (in-person): Resident three blocks east of Aurora. Proposed moving the problem to a compressed area on 6th Avenue South to concentrate services. Expressed callousness but argued it's more manageable. Also called for ending gun violence and addressing root causes.
- Rick Fordyce (in-person): Resident of 102nd for 20 years. Described Aurora as a war zone with shootouts. Reported that a police officer said he wouldn't drive by prostitutes for fear of harassment charges. Called the situation slavery.
- Peter Orr (in-person): Resident of North Aurora since 2010. Thanked Councilmembers Juarez, Hollingsworth, and Kettle for their presence and efforts. Urged opening a satellite precinct at 97th and Aurora, funding a dedicated prosecutor, and calling on the governor for state support. Noted finding a bullet casing on the way to school that morning.
- Anders McConaughey (remote): Homeowner in Greenwood. Opposed street barriers and surveillance cameras. Stated he feels safe and that barriers have disrupted sanitation services. Called for funding low-barrier emergency housing, trauma-informed exit services, and healthcare instead of cameras. Warned that city cannot prevent federal access to surveillance data.
- Kate Baldwin (remote): Greenwood resident. Disagreed with the previous speaker. Cited police estimate that 62% of violent crime in the neighborhood is related to prostitution/sex trafficking. Described pimps earning $6,000–$7,000 per prostitute per night, gun battles, and attacks on residents. Called for full police capacity, cameras, a mobile precinct, and enforcement laws to allow police to do their job.
- Melissa Howard (remote): District 6 resident. Opposed expanding surveillance cameras and the real-time crime center. Argued threats of data misuse are not hypothetical, citing federal government actions. Said studies show surveillance does not create safety. Called for investment in community-driven public safety programs.
- Aaron Gardner (remote): Neighbor near Aurora. Thanked officials for attending Saturday's protest. Emphasized that the average age of entry into trafficking is 14, many from foster care. Supported blocking streets as a temporary measure to stop bullets. Offered to work with the city.
- Howard Gale (remote): Criticized the CARE ordinance as theoretical while police are underutilized. Cited failures in police accountability, the murder of Charlena Lyles, and SPD killings of people in mental health crisis. Accused the council of signifying one thing while acting to the contrary.
- Hannah Fishman (remote): Resident at Linden and 98th. Expressed that there is not broad support for additional police or National Guard. Called for investment in public goods, healthcare, and support for vulnerable people. Opposed surveillance and soap zones.
- Michael McDaniel (remote): Supported the Nordic model and funding services like Breath of the Lower Commons. Wanted accountability for service providers. Said the problem is not new and not specific to any administration.
- David Haynes (remote): Called for a new police chief. Accused the city of legalizing sex crimes through bad policies. Criticized LEAD and other programs as running interference for criminals. Alleged police entrapment that gives heads-up to pimps.
Discussion Items
1. Overview of the Draft CARE Department Update Ordinance
Tamaso Johnson from Council Central Staff presented the draft ordinance, which updates the Seattle Municipal Code to describe the Community Crisis Responder (CCR) team as a core function of the CARE Department. The ordinance defines the CCR team's role, qualifications, deployment methods, and clarifies they are not law enforcement. It also acknowledges the transfer of contract administration for LEAD, Co-LEAD, and WDC from HSD to CARE, effective January 2026. The CCR team doubled from 24 to 48 staff between 2025 and 2026.
Discussion highlights:
- Councilmember Saka asked about coordination with other alternative response programs like Health One and Health 99. Johnson noted the ordinance focuses on codifying CARE's current state, not linkages with Fire or SPD, but the new code section allows dispatch via 911, SPD, Fire, or other mechanisms.
- Councilmember Lin questioned whether the ordinance shifts gun violence prevention contracts to CARE. Johnson clarified that only LEAD-related contracts have moved; other CVI contracts remain in HSD. Chair Kettle emphasized that the mission belongs in public safety and will receive more oversight.
- Councilmember Juarez raised concerns about the term "accountability" in the ordinance, given issues with King County Regional Homeless Authority contracts. Chair Kettle noted that the word "compassionate" was accidentally struck and will be restored. Juarez also questioned labeling CCRs as "first responders," which carries legal implications for liability and protections. Johnson said the language mirrors existing public statements and has been reviewed by the Law Department. Chair Kettle agreed to explore adding the same protections for CCRs that firefighters recently received.
- Councilmember Rivera questioned the level of specificity in codifying CCR duties, noting that other departments are not described in such detail. Johnson argued that because CARE is newer and its CCR function is a significant investment, codification provides clarity and shows commitment to alternative response. Chair Kettle stated that police and fire are already in the SMC, and this is necessary to be serious about alternative response.
Outcome: The item was heard as an information item. The chair indicated the ordinance will be revised to include protections for CCRs and will return to committee.
2. Seattle Neighborhood Impact Framework (SNIF)
Presented by Sam Wolff (Purpose. Dignity. Action.), Elena Arakaki (Friends of Little Saigon), Marcus Johnson (U-District Partnership), Mike Stewart (Ballard Alliance), Paige Killinger and Karen Salinas (REACH). Councilmember Strauss also participated, noting his long involvement.
SNIF is a coordination framework that brings together neighborhood leaders, outreach workers, ambassadors, case managers, and public safety coordinators to address public safety and quality-of-life issues. It operates at four levels: (1) day-to-day coordination, (2) neighborhood case conferences for priority individuals, (3) place-based discussions, and (4) citywide summits.
Key data presented:
- In the Chinatown-International District (CID), WDC ambassador teams encountered over 1,100 unique individuals in the past year. About 5% of that population accounted for 40% of encounters.
- A summer 2025 pilot with Co-LEAD connected 41 high-priority individuals to high-support shelter. Outcomes: 95% connected to recovery resources, over 90% achieved housing-related outcomes, and a 50% decrease in encounters in the CID for that cohort.
- The framework is at different stages in different neighborhoods: Lake City and Capitol Hill are building basic components; CID has some components but needs a dedicated neighborhood outreach coordinator; U-District and Ballard have full fidelity (all components) but need more long-term care resources.
Discussion highlights:
- Councilmember Saka asked about factors behind the CID success and potential expansion to South Seattle. Panelists cited pairing people with appropriate resources like high-support shelter and the prioritization framework. They noted that Pioneer Square is a candidate for expansion.
- Councilmember Lin emphasized the need for collaboration between service providers and law enforcement, noting that LEAD partnerships weakened after the pandemic. Panelists agreed that information-sharing agreements in SNIF allow for careful collaboration while protecting client confidentiality.
- Councilmember Rivera praised BIAs for leading the ambassador programs and noted her support for adding outreach positions and medication services in U-District, Ballard, and Capitol Hill. She also called for improved warm handoffs from SPD to LEAD.
- Chair Kettle thanked the panel and expressed interest in expanding the model to other neighborhoods like Queen Anne/Magnolia.
Outcome: The item was heard as an information item. No formal action was taken.
Key Outcomes
- The committee heard two information items (CARE ordinance and SNIF) and did not hear the third item (SPD Q1 report).
- The draft CARE ordinance will be revised to include protections for CCRs as first responders, similar to those afforded to firefighters, and will return to committee.
- The SNIF presentation highlighted successful outcomes in CID and the need for expansion to other neighborhoods. Councilmembers expressed support for continued funding and replication.
- No votes were taken; all items were briefings and discussions.
Meeting Transcript
Public safety committee meeting will come to order. It's 9 32 a.m. June 9th, 2026. I'm Robert Kettle, Chair of the Public Safety Committee. Will the committee clerk please call the roll? Councilmember. Here, uh Councilmember Lynn is running late. Councilmember Rivera. Present. Council Member Saka. Here. Chair Kettle. Here. Okay, there are four members present. Great, thank you. And Councilmember Lynn is excused until he arrives. Learn that lesson. Okay, for today's chair comments, just wanted to briefly uh say and pass a word of thanks to my colleague, Councilmember Rivera, for putting on a great gun violence intervention symposium yesterday where she brought in different pieces of government, county, local, federal. We had a great mix of you know people who are in the in the work of gun violence prevention, but also from the community. We had different community organizations represented, and uh, you know, fire. We we had the whole host, um, it's hard to get everybody in there, and I'm sure we could get more, but we had a great representation across the board, and so I wanted to thank her, also thank um uh deputy mayor surrat, but also people like um King County prosecutor uh Lisa Manion, City Attorney Evans, um Chief Barnes, uh, you know, uh for spending the entire day there uh because it was shows the you know how important it is by their participation, and I just wanted to say that we we will look to build on this uh work that uh that was done yesterday in symposium. Uh I already talked to Chief Barnes about having Dr. Hunt's presentation, a version of it uh presented to committee at some point over the course of this committee season. Uh so I think it's that important, and you know, and in going through the um the present, you know, the day at the end, I I noted a few things, and I just wanted to like relay these again. Um is in order to move forward, you need leadership. And you know, I've mentioned this before recently in chair comments leadership with follow-through and follow-up. We have to do that, and it must be dedicated and it cannot be ad hoc. We really need to be focused in terms of what we're doing. Um we also need to, in terms of the committee and the council, do our piece too. We have the strategic framework plan where we added you know the you know, a pillar of this being gun violence reduction, prevention, and community safety. Community safety is important. That's part of what we're doing here. That's kind of alternative response in a way at the community level, as opposed to the more formal level with care and the organization service providers, but working together with community because at the end of the day, community is the key for this for us. I mentioned that we have to have a regional approach. It's interesting. You know, we talk about uh Seattle public safety issues, but they're not Seattle public safety issues. Uh these individuals like with uh gun violence, and by the way, there's different types of gun violence. There's Rainier Beach, but that's different from the CID, and both of them are different from North Aurora. So our gun violence, by the way, is not uniform. But what's uniform is the regional aspect of it with individuals and organizations, groups that come in and out, and that's something that we have to be mindful of and also underscores the fact that we have to work with the county and the state. I've mentioned recently how the state needs to pass laws that they could have done in the last session that could help us. But we also need to work directly with other jurisdictions, you know, the cities of Kent, Renton, Burian, whatever, uhquila, um, and not just with the county, because I think that partnership was is key. And then the two last things I wanted that I noted yesterday is acts of hurt, as somebody mentioned, uh comes from hurt people, and this really goes to you know this idea of you know addressing the scene between public safety, uh, public health housing and human services. You know, the the human services piece, the housing and the public health piece, the behavioral health, mental health, um that's where hurt people are, and we need to be working the connection between that area and public safety. Otherwise, we'll continue to run the standstill. And uh, and just to close, I said this yesterday because it was uh striking to me. There was a uh it was made, we had individuals from Philadelphia, um, people coming in from South Bend and Baltimore. So it was really a great thing, and as a veteran, it caught my my attention that they said about young people that there's they have more exposure to violence and trauma than active duty U.S. military personnel. We should think about that and reflect upon it and say, hey, as I said to the group, as I said in North Um Seattle over the weekend, it's not right and it's not acceptable.
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