Crime

(The Center Square) – Seattle City Council Chair Sara Nelson says there’s more work to be done on public safety even after more than 10 related bills were passed in 2024. In the first year of the new influx of city council members, 14 public safety-related bills were approved and signed into law, the most since 2015, according to Nelson. The cit...

(The Center Square) - When Jeff Johnson walked into city hall on Monday, he knew the future of his organization lay in the hands of the seven elected officials before him, but he left with a chance to show its worth. Johnson, executive director of Spokane Community Oriented Policing Services, or Spokane COPS, made his case during Monday’s city council meeting. The ...

(The Center Square) – Families of incarcerated youth and juvenile justice advocates are speaking out against Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee’s recent announcement regarding plans for a new juvenile rehabilitation center. Last week, Inslee announced a proposal to open a new juvenile rehabilitation center at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen. This co...

(The Center Square) – Six months into a pilot project, the Washington State Department of Transportation was set to release findings into the effectiveness of graffiti-battling drone technology. The drone pilot program is the result of a bill sponsored by Rep. Andr...

(The Center Square) – King County voters may have to decide on a levy renewal to continue operations of the county's program to provide fingerprint identification for public safety use. The King County Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, is a property tax-funded program that provides staffing and technology to support fingerprint identification for police, prosecutors, correction

(The Center Square) – The federal government has the authority to deport foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally over the objection of local authorities, a panel of three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled. The 29-page ruling was written by Judge Daniel Bress, with judges Michael Hawkins and Richard Clinton concurring. A...

(The Center Square) – Federal agents are arresting a record number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist at the northern U.S. border, including a Jordanian national with ties to terrorism who recently was removed from the country after illegally entering from Canada. B...

(The Center Square) – Gov. Jay Inslee proposed opening a new juvenile rehabilitation center in Aberdeen on Monday as another Chehalis facility grapples with a 60% increase in its population since 2023. Inslee and the Department of Children, Youth & Families laid out the proposal during a Monday press conference. While to...

(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has issued an executive order focusing on public safety amid a recent spike in cases of violent crime in residential neighborhoods. Harrell’s Friday executive order establishes an expanded use of the “Downtown Activation Team” pilot program, which seeks to provide cleaning and safety operations in the city’s more crime-riddled neighborhoods. The Do

(The Center Square) - The Spokane Police Department isn’t the only agency patrolling Spokane, but after nearly 32 years, the nonprofit helping out around town might have to close its doors for good. Spokane Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, has served the local community since 1992, building its network up to eight locations. Whil...