‘I hope we don’t get territorial’: KIRO hosts back Seattle council’s gun violence strategy, urge mayor not to stand in the way

The Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee unanimously advanced a resolution calling for a new gun violence reduction strategy, and KIRO host Spike O’Neill said the approach makes sense but warned that political turf wars between the council and the mayor could kill it before it starts.

“Something needs to be done,” Spike said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “I’m hoping the mayor doesn’t stand her ground to make it her own policy. I think working with others and listening to others might be a really good idea for the mayor to at least entertain.”

KIRO fill-in host Greg Tomlin said the strategy’s fundamentals are hard to argue with.

“On its surface it seems like, why not?” Greg said. “I sort of like the concept.”

What is focused deterrence?

The resolution, sponsored by Seattle City Councilmember Maritza Rivera, passed the committee 3-0 with Seattle City Councilmember Eddie Lin abstaining. It calls for a two-year, $418,000 partnership with the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Programs using the model have driven 40% to 60% reductions in gun violence in cities including Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, according to The Seattle Times.

The basic premise is that a relatively small group of people accounts for a disproportionate amount of a city’s violence. Police, prosecutors, community leaders, and service providers identify those highest-risk individuals and groups and communicate with them directly.

“If they continue to engage in gun violence and do not accept those services, then they will receive swift and certain consequences,” Rivera said.

At the same time, people who want out of gangs, crews, or trafficking rings are offered employment, housing, treatment, and other services. Community members known as “credible messengers” reinforce the message that the neighborhood itself wants the violence to stop.

Greg draws a Patriot Act comparison

Greg said the model’s emphasis on interagency coordination reminded him of the intelligence-sharing reforms that followed 9/11 and argued the parallel has historical weight.

“Pre-9/11, federal agencies, state and local law enforcement were pretty bad at sharing information with one another. They operated in silos,” Greg said. “It’s one of the preconditions that was necessary for attacks to be as successful as they were. The perpetrators and terrorist organizations were known to authorities, but each agency had little different bits of information, and they weren’t combining all of that into one.”

He said the focused deterrence model applies the same logic locally by jointly involving police, prosecutors, probation, parole, outreach workers, service providers, and hospitals that encounter shooting victims.

“These principles of working together across agencies seem to have historical validity to them,” Greg said. “If it puts more of an emphasis on that, I think it could be great for the city.”

Spike recalls the World Cup model

Spike pointed to Seattle’s experience hosting the FIFA World Cup as proof that the approach works when the city commits to it.

“We had all these various resources, federal, state, local, and what they did was they rounded up the bad guys,” Spike said. “They knew these folks were out there. They had outstanding warrants for them. They focused on getting those folks off the street for the World Cup. And immediately after the World Cup, they’re like, why can’t we have this Seattle all the time?”

He said the concept of “upstreaming,” a term former Mayor Bruce Harrell used, captures the idea of catching problems before they escalate.

“Course corrections are much easier when you get them early, if you get them upstream,” Spike said. “It’s much easier to get people on the right track if they aren’t years in the wrong direction.”

Council planting flags on ‘I want to be mayor’ hill?

Spike said he supports the resolution but acknowledged the political dynamics at play. Several council members have been publicly critical of Mayor Katie Wilson’s handling of public safety since the Bite of Seattle shooting in July, and Spike said some appear to be positioning themselves.

“Sounds to me like some of the members of the city council are planting their flag in the ‘I want to be mayor’ hill, and they have been for the last month and a half since the Bite of Seattle shooting,” Spike said.

The mayor is expected to unveil her own gun violence prevention policy in the coming days. Greg said he was skeptical Wilson would embrace the council’s plan.

“I’m skeptical,” Greg said. “I think unfortunately she might have a tendency to want to focus on the inanimate objects themselves instead of the people and the community itself, which I find refreshing about the focused deterrence approach.”

Spike said he was more optimistic, noting that Wilson’s governing philosophy tends to emphasize the human element.

“The mayor’s approach seems to be more of a humanity-based approach to these issues,” Spike said.

But he had a bottom line.

“I hope we don’t get territorial on that front,” Spike said.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.