Reports of Seattle gun crime reaches record levels

The second highest number of shots fired in Seattle were recorded between January and August of 2016. The only year to have a higher number was 2015.

Seattle has also experienced more gun deaths in 2016 than the previous year.

Related: Data shows Kshama Sawant may be the one who is out of touch

City Living Seattle reports that a recent meeting of the East Precinct Police Advisory Council reviewed gun shot statistics for Seattle from January to August 2016. According to City Living:

The year 2016 saw 211 reports of shots fired from Jan. 1 to Aug. 1, the second-highest number of incidences for the same period of every year from 2012. Only 2015 was higher, with 226 police reports that included evidence or eyewitness reports of gunshots. The gap was even narrower when it came to the number of victims of gun violence. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 1, the year 2016 saw 35 gun-related injuries, compared to 45 for the same period in 2015. But 2016 has seen more gun-related deaths, with seven fatalities this year versus six in 2015.

City Living reports that on Aug. 2 — the day after the January through August statistics end — Seattle had its eighth gun death. The majority of the shots fired were reported in the east precinct.

Beyond Seattle gun crime

The data adds to other recent statistics reported by Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat, who noted that rapes are up by 55 percent in Seattle over the past year. Police data shows that there have been 127 reported rapes in Seattle between January and Sept. 10, 2016. That’s more than the 82 reported during the same time in 2015, as well as more than the reported numbers over the past 10 years.

Domestic violence calls are also up by 11 percent in Seattle.

And going back to the issue of Seattle gun crime, local police seized more than 900 illegal guns in 2015.

But there is a debate between the data and other issues plaguing Seattle. Council member Kshama Sawant recently told the Jason and Burns Show that housing is a higher concern than police funding. That debate comes amid controversy over a proposed — and now canceled — north police precinct. Sawant argues that funding the construction of more housing trumps the need to fund such police projects.

A group called Block the Bunker also maintains this argument. It not only aims to halt the construction of the north precinct, but also has demanded that no more officers be hired in Seattle; the dismantling of the police officers’ union; and more.

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