Gee: Don’t let anyone scare you, SPD data shows 261 calls, but only 25 crimes during first World Cup week

I’ve been around Lumen Field for a lot of sporting events for more than 20-plus years, but this World Cup brought something different. As one of the FIFA World Cup hosts for these matches, it only felt right that I walked around after the matches to check out the vibes.

Wow, what I saw and felt was one of the best feelings and vibes I’ve ever had in Seattle. I’d say the most recent Seahawks Super Bowl parade is No. 1 for me, selfishly, because I was in it. There was such a positive vibe downtown Seattle that I reached out to the Seattle Police Department to see if their data matched my feelings.

The Seattle Police Department put out its first-week report, covering June 15 through June 21 and two match days.

Seattle threw a party, and the data backs it up. In a full week of World Cup activity across four fan zones, there were 25 crimes reported. I’m not going to sit here and tell you everything was perfect, but I’m also not going to let anybody scare you with a headline that doesn’t match the facts. The data shows Seattle did pretty well, considering that there was a really big party.

Majority of crimes during Seattle World Cup happened in one area

Here’s the part that matters most if you’re heading downtown for a match. About 76% of every reported crime happened in one area. The Pioneer Square stretch between the transit stops and the northeast gate of Lumen Field. Now check this out, though: Pike Place Market and Pier 62 had zero crimes.

One thing that jumped out at me was Saturday, June 20, when no match was being played. Pioneer Square did light up a bit on the map between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Most of what officers dealt with was the rowdy disturbances, folks having too much to drink, and those getting loud.

One concern is assaults and aggravated assaults together — they made up about 40% of the actual crimes. That number for sure needs to go down.

You might hear that there were 261 calls to police and think the worst. There were 261 calls and only 25 actual crimes. That amounts to 10 calls for every one real incident.

This all reminds me of high school when a great party was thrown. For the most part, the party was amazing, and the people complaining about it most likely weren’t even there. So if you’re heading down for a match or just to be around it, I’d highly recommend it. There’s more soccer coming, more visitors coming, and more chances to show the world who Seattle is.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.

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