Politics · United States · 1 hr ago
Seattle residents say city is losing ground on safety and quality of life
A Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce survey found 65 percent of respondents said the city was losing positive momentum on public safety and quality of life after the World Cup.
The survey spoke to 700 people from September 23 to October 1, and 66 percent said city leaders were not doing enough.
Only 24 percent were confident Seattle had an effective plan to improve public safety, and 15 percent believed it could reduce homeless encampments.
Residents said they feel less safe downtown at night, where 46 percent said they felt safe, the lowest figure since early 2022.
Mayor Katie Wilson said public safety concerns were justified and her proposed budget would fund 66 more police officers next year.
She said hiring is limited by a training bottleneck and proposed neighborhood-based plans to address safety concerns and their root causes.
A Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce survey found that 65 percent of respondents said the city was losing positive momentum on public safety and quality of life after the World Cup.
The survey found that 66 percent said city leaders were not doing enough, while 24 percent were confident the city had an effective plan to improve public safety.
Only 46 percent of respondents said they felt safe downtown at night, the lowest such figure since early 2022.
Mayor Katie Wilson said public safety was on many people’s minds and said her proposed budget would fully fund police staffing.
The survey interviewed 700 people from September 23 to October 1.
- Who
- Seattle residents and Mayor Katie Wilson.
- What
- A survey found residents were concerned that the city was losing ground on public safety and quality of life.
- When
- The survey interviewed people from September 23 to October 1; its findings were released Tuesday.
- Where
- Seattle, Washington.
- Why
- Residents cited concerns about crime, drugs, public safety and the city’s direction.
Seattle residents concerned about safety and quality of life
Mayor Katie Wilson
Public safety progress
Seattle residents concerned about safety and quality of life
65 percent of survey respondents said Seattle was losing positive momentum on public safety and quality of life.
Mayor Katie Wilson
Wilson said public safety was on many people’s minds and proposed neighborhood-based plans to address concerns.
City leadership
Seattle residents concerned about safety and quality of life
66 percent said city leaders were not doing enough.
Mayor Katie Wilson
Wilson said her proposed budget would fully fund police staffing and provide funding for 66 more officers next year.
The chamber survey interviewed 700 people.
Seattle cleaned up more than five million pounds of waste and removed more than 661,000 needles, according to KOMO News.
Seattle hosted six games.
The chamber released the survey findings, and Wilson addressed them.
- Survey respondents
- 700 people
- Losing positive momentum
- 65 percent
- City leaders not doing enough
- 66 percent
- Confident in effective public safety plan
- 24 percent
- Safe downtown at night
- 46 percent
What people are saying
public safety was on a lot of people's minds with a good reason.
Real progress means not just reacting to incidents when they occur, but taking that really deep look at the root causes,