KIRO NEWSRADIO

Police Chief Shon Barnes outlines future vision for a safer Seattle

Oct 24, 2025, 3:12 PM | Updated: Oct 27, 2025, 6:39 am

Seattle’s streets are slowly changing. Under the guidance of Police Chief Shon Barnes, the department is working to build a future rooted in consistency, community, and collaboration.

“For me, success looks like consistency. If you want to be successful, you have to do what it takes to be successful every day, the things you don’t want to do… showing up for people, empowering the people who are actually doing the work out there,” Barnes explains.

Barnes appeared on the “Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio to discuss what future policing in Seattle will look like.

In Barnes’ vision, success goes beyond numbers or statistics. It means a city where officers and community members collaborate, trust grows every day, and public safety is built through steady effort, careful planning, and strong partnerships.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

KIRO Newsradio

income tax I-645...

John Curley Show

‘They seem to think they know better’: WA Policy Center blasts Supreme Court for tossing voter-approved natural gas initiative

Washington voters approved I-2066 to protect access to natural gas. The state Supreme Court threw it out.

6 hours ago

Polyamory Divorce...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘How does that work?’: Jake puzzles over Seattle’s new polyamory protections

Seattle just became the largest city in the country to extend civil rights protections to people practicing polyamory or non-monogamous relationships.

6 hours ago

mayor impeached...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘If you’ve never had a credit card, you shouldn’t be handed the city credit card’: Jake reacts to Georgia’s youngest mayor removed from office

When Jayden Williams was elected mayor of Stockbridge, Georgia, he became the youngest in the city's history.

6 hours ago

seattle police bodycam bite of seattle shooting...

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

Former King County sheriff says ‘we can’t arrest our way out’ of Seattle’s gun violence crisis

Nearly two months after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival killed three people, at least one suspect is still at large.

1 day ago

Seattle Police Department car...

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show

‘You have to really do something for SPD to engage’: Gee chooses nuance over outrage after man dies in Seattle police custody

A man died in police custody Saturday evening in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood, and the King County Independent Force Investigation Team has taken over the case. On "The Gee and Ursula Show" on KIRO Newsradio, Gee Scott took on the story with a level of nuance he acknowledged may get the clicks but was the responsible way to talk about it.

1 day ago

grizzly bear (1)...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘A bear meet and greet’: KIRO hosts swap scariest wildlife stories after black bear sends father and child to hospital

A father and a child were hospitalized after a black bear attacked them on a residential property north of Lake Whatcom on Sunday evening. Jake Skorheim said the story hit close to home in more ways than one.

1 day ago

Police Chief Shon Barnes outlines future vision for a safer Seattle