Tacoma police released new data showing evidence-based policing strategies are leading to a decline in violent crime, but murders and business robberies are on the rise.
Tacoma Police Department leaders, including the chief and consultants working with the department, shared the results of the violent crime reduction plan with the City Council Tuesday afternoon.
The presentation focused on the department’s three phases.
1. Increase police presence in areas with high concentrations of violent crime through hotspot policing strategies
2. Use a problem-oriented, place-based policing approach
3. Focus on strategies to break the cycle of violence among repeat offenders and high-risk offenders, who are responsible for most of Tacoma’s violent crimes.
Policing hotspots:
Since July 2022, the Tacoma Police Department has adopted a short-term hotspot policing strategy that deploys officers to areas where there is a high risk of violence.
Officials shared a graph at the meeting showing violent crime has increased since 2019, but the trend changed in July 2022 when the department began using the new strategy, consultant Dr. Michael Smith said. .
However, not all violent crimes were on the decline.
Smith showed a graph showing a decline in the number of assaults and personal robberies over the past six months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
However, in the same year-to-year comparison, the number of murders increased slightly and the number of corporate robberies increased.
Problem-oriented place-based policing (POPBP):
Police said the medium-term strategy, POPBP, focuses on addressing the underlying conditions that are causing the problem to reoccur in high-risk areas for violent crime, including Hosmer Street.
Smith said officers worked with community stakeholders and members to address the violence, which led to improvements.
Smith said the solutions to improve Hosmer Street include:
1. Compliance with the Code by Affected Properties
2. Solutions to homelessness
3. Removal of dead leaves and trash
4. Engagement with community stakeholders
The presentation showed that violent crime in the City of Tacoma decreased by 18.6% in the last six months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, but the annual number of violent crimes remains high compared to pre-pandemic levels. It was done.
The presentation also showed that violent crime in treatment hotspots was down more than 13% compared to the same month last year.
Smith also said the number of violent crime calls was also down 15% citywide compared to last year, and 8% in hot spots where they were handled.
“We’re not doing things ad hoc because that’s what we’ve always done, but rather we’re following the evidence and the scene. And as Chief Moore said earlier, we’re following the evidence and the scene. The science suggests to me that this is an effective drug and that we should continue to use it long-term,” Smith said.
“It’s also important to not stop and celebrate before you have to. The goal is to have all three stages working at the same time, so you can actually make data-based decisions about whether to continue or not.” Police Chief Avery Moore told the mayor.
Moore told the City Council that consistency is key.
KIRO 7 News requested an interview with Police Chief Moore, but a spokesperson declined our request.
Mr Smith and police chiefs said they would soon begin discussions and planning for the third phase, which will focus on deterrence.
Homer Street:
KIRO 7 News drove to Hosmer Street, an area police say is at high risk for violence, to talk to residents about the new data and whether it matches what they’re seeing. Asked.
“I’ve never seen it before. I hope over time that comes through,” said Erin Magill, who has lived in the area for two years. “There were a lot of things that happened, drug cases and murders. It’s much more than what’s been made public.”
“You always have to keep an eye on it. You never know what people’s intentions are,” she added.
“Personally, I haven’t seen it,” her father, Brandon Burkhardt, told KIRO 7 News.
“I’m worried about my daughter’s safety,” he said. “Like I said, I don’t let my kids go out here or anything like that.”
Burkhardt said there did not appear to be an increased police presence in the area, including when his car was stolen.
“I have never seen any police here. Our car was broken into and stolen here. We need to lock our belongings and lock up our children. “No,” he said. “You come out here and you see them (people) smoking foil outside. They do it in public. It’s crazy.”
KIRO 7 News drove down Hosmer Street and witnessed an altercation between the store owner and another man. According to the owner, a man was smoking drugs in front of the store and asked him to leave, but the man did not cooperate.
Shortly after, a KIRO 7 News photojournalist was assaulted by another man near the area.
A woman witnessed the incident.
“Assault the photographer,” said Virginia Moriarty, who has lived in the area for six years. “People don’t respect other people’s lives.”
“People are being beaten for aluminum foil. People are being robbed for their clothes,” she said. “This is something completely different for me. Safety is also important to me, which means I prefer to be in or in my car most of the time.”
