Crime

(The Center Square) – Staffing levels within the King County jail system have improved enough to allow the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention to lift all remaining misdemeanor booking restrictions. In November, the King County jail resumed booking low-level and non-violent crime offenders as part of an agreement with the city of Seattle after a four-year halt. The ...

(The Center Square) – Washington could soon follow Utah as state lawmakers convened Tuesday to hear testimony on a bill that could lower the legal per se blood alcohol concentration for driving from .08 to .05. Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, proposed Senate Bill 5067 to lower the legal BAC limit when operating a motor vehicle or vessel to .05. A...

(The Center Square) – A proposed bill related to crowd control policies in Seattle has been amended to include some limitations on the use of less-lethal weapons. Council Bill 120916 would help the Seattle Police Department be in full compliance with a preliminary injunction regarding the department’s crowd control measures, the result of a 2012 court order that was sought by the U.S. Departme...

(The Center Square) – A Washington state Republican lawmaker is backing a bill that would stiffen penalties for unlawful firearm possession by requiring every individual convicted as such to go to jail, with no discretion from police. Rep. Sam ...

(The Center Square) – Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore has announced proposed reforms to limit the Seattle Police Department’s use of blast balls for crowd control. Blast balls are rubber devices that create a loud sound and bright flash, and can also contain tear gas. Moore’s...

(The Center Square) – Ongoing concerns remain among 911 dispatch centers in the state over the use of certain data by a police use of force database project headed by Washington State University under the guidance of the State Attorney General’s Office. In 2023...

(The Center Square) – The Seattle Police Department had a net gain of one officer in 2024, breaking a four-year streak of a net loss of officers. City leaders have identified the need to boost staffing within the Seattle Police Department after a mass exodus of officers leaving the force since 2020. The ...

(The Center Square) – Spokane Valley plans to add 10 police officers to its ranks this year, three of whom are already in training; the city council decided on Tuesday where the other seven will go once hired. The Valley contracts its law enforcement services through an agreement with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The deal c...

(The Center Square) – A program manager for the nonprofit organization City Year who worked with Seattle Public Schools students is being investigated for the alleged rape of a child off-campus. Gregory Ward was arrested on Monday related to an incident that occurred around Dec. 31. ...

(The Center Square) – Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall announced Monday that while calls for service dropped by less than 1% over 2024, arrests increased nearly 20%, with reports of unlawful camping up by 145%. The Spokane Police Department has hovered around 250,000 calls annually for the past two years after receiving only 217,568 in 2022. Whil...