High Utilizer
Public Safety
High Utilizer
Learning from Seattle's High Utilizer Program
The Downtown Spokane Partnership invited Seattle City Attorney, Ann Davison to speak at our ‘Downtown Dialogue’ series to share how this public safety tool came to fruition. Seattle was experiencing many of the same issues we are seeing with chronic quality of life crimes that affect people’s perception of safety and causing our small business owners thousands of dollars in property damage.
The City Attorney’s office started by selecting over one hundred individuals who were responsible for thousands of crimes mostly pertaining to substance use. The identified individuals were booked and held at jail for all crimes including misdemeanor offenses that would under other circumstances not be a non-bookable offense. From there, each level of the criminal justice system treated these offenders as a priority to ensure they had the coordinated resources to give them attention the needed as not offend again.
A few steps are required to make these individuals a priority. First, they dedicated bed space in the jail, offered substance use treatment with expected outcomes. With substance abuse being the common issue, treatment was offered to everyone instead of incarceration. While some participants declined treatment and then were held in jail, many accepted the treatment and are in active recovery.
In just a year after implementing the ‘High Utilizer’ initiative, the city of Seattle saw a double digit decrease in crime. Which led to downward trends in police referrals, reduced time in the jail system and lower criminal activity throughout the city including their downtown.
Key Takeaways:
• Coordination with all levels of the criminal justice system
• Arresting and booking those with repeat misdemeanor crimes in jail
• Providing treatment for those with substance use disorder and coordinate social service release