Katie Wilson has Already Doubled Seattle’s Crisis Response Rates

CARE utilization skyrockets from 40% to 80%

When it comes to public safety, Mayor Wilson quietly runs circles around predecessor and conservative Councilmembers.

Seattle’s chronically marginalized Community Crisis Responders are at the margins no more. Reporter Guy Oron quoted CARE Chief Amy Barden saying that her department’s utilization has doubled from about 40% under former Mayor Bruce Harrell to 80% under Mayor Katie Wilson.

That means some combination of faster 911 responses, more 911 calls answered, better de-escalation and access to resources for people in crisis, and more armed officers available for dealing with violent emergencies.

In other words, it means we are safer and we have Mayor Wilson to thank for it.

WTF kept the Conservative Dems from using CARE?

A quick review of how we got here:

For years, Seattle residents demanded an alternative civilian response for nonviolent emergencies, while powerful “moderates” like Bruce Harrell drug their feet. Cities all over the country, including here in King County, leapt ahead while Seattle sat on its hands. Finally the pressure got so strong that the moderates relented and started building “CARE,” the Community Assistance Response Department.

But even though we spent millions staffing up the department, the moderates who claim they love “government efficiency” did next to nothing to actually use it.

A little less than a year ago, Bruce Harrell and Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle (who heads the Public Safety Committee) were “negotiating” with the Seattle Police Officers Guild — the same negotiation that ended in a corrupt deal shutting Crisis Care Responders out of most 911 call types. This was despite the city’s own study, commissioned in 2019 under moderate Mayor Jenny Durkan, showing alternate responders could handle nearly half of all 911 calls.

The Guild had already gotten its members the highest pay in the state in the previous negotiation, on top of huge bonuses. Police recruiting had already revved up. While a shortage still existed, there was little likelihood of a real return on more money per police officer. To top it off, we were already spending twice as much per officer fielded as Boston.

So what did Kettle and Harrell “negotiate”? Another giant raise, barely after the ink had dried on the last one.

What did the city get in return?

Accountability for rogue cops? Nope.

Unshackled civilian responders? Nope — CARE’s scope was narrowed and cops got to decide whether they were allowed to do their jobs.

In other words: SPOG got its $50 million, and in “exchange” got everything else it wanted too.

(And now police pay is so high that SPOG can wait out Katie Wilson’s mayoralty and never really have to bargain with her. Which was almost certainly the goal)

Mayor Wilson makes key changes

Now, Mayor Wilson has been in office less than a year. This summer, she asked the Police Chief to resign, and the corporate crowd did everything they could to turn this into a story about her somehow doing a bad job.

This was despite the fact that Chief Barnes had:

1. Never moved to Seattle and was out of town a lot, including during multiple crises

2. Put an anti-trans bigot in charge of the East Precinct (in the City’s “gayborhood”)

3. Couldn’t handle difficult questions from the press

   1. Botched the response to the bite of Seattle shooting

And what are the results?

We’ve got an interim Chief that is actually responding to the Mayor’s wishes, and in doing so we’ve doubled CARE utilization in a matter of weeks.

Responders are available 18 hours a day, up from 10. It’s not a new program or line item in the budget. It’s the same professionals, finally allowed to do the job we already paid for.

Katie Wilson: keeping us safe instead of throwing blue glitter in the air.

Conservatives love to scare you and to play dress up like they are tough and that this will make you safe. But they aren’t tough and they aren’t making you safe.

But you know who is?

Katie Wilson