Seattle City Attorney Launches SODA Initiative Aimed to Combat Drug-Related Crime
Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison announced to local media at Seattle City Hall a new proposal aiming to curb drug-related crime by empowering courts to issue exclusion orders for high-risk zones. (Photos by Lorcan Stokes)
By Lorcan Stokes
On Thursday, August 1, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison unveiled a new public safety initiative to curb drug-related crime in the city. The proposed legislation, titled "Stay out of Drug Area" or SODA, seeks to empower King County Courts to issue exclusion orders, barring individuals convicted of drug-related offenses from re-entering designated high-risk zones.
"We want to protect our residents, our workers, our visitors, all who come to the city of Seattle," Davison said. "It is time that we do some action that will help to disrupt those who want to come and create criminal enterprise in the form of drug use and possession and all the activity that is associated with it."
As part of a broader effort to tackle Seattle's drug crisis and enhance community safety in Seattle, including the CARE team initiative and Mayor Bruce Harrell's Downtown Activation Plan, District 7 Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle strongly supported the proposed SODA legislation. Representing Downtown, Kettle emphasized the urgent need to address high drug concentration zones, specifically 3rd Avenue around Pike and Pine, as well as certain streets in Belltown, stressing that the SODA legislation is a crucial step in mitigating the impact of drug-related crime on the city's hardest-hit neighborhoods, some of which are within his district.
"It is clear that once we have a drug market, we then have a stolen goods market, and then, oftentimes, prostitution, possibly in sex trafficking. The harm is undeniable," Kettle said. "Our strategic framework plan is our guide, and this SODA bill is key to it for it shows intent, and it gives a tool to not just SPD, but also to the prosecutors and the court across the street from us today."
District 7 Councilman Bob Kettle backed the SODA legislation as part of a more significant effort to tackle Seattle's drug crisis, underscoring the need to address high drug concentration zones and open-air drug markets in areas like Downtown and Belltown, both under his jurisdiction.
The SODA zones will include two key areas: Zone 1 and 2. Zone 1 will cover several blocks in downtown Seattle, bordering Stewart Street, University Street, 6th Avenue, and 1st Avenue. Zone 2, located in the International District, will encompass multiple blocks bordered by S. Main Street, S. Dearborn Street, Boren Avenue, Rainier Avenue, and I-5. Notably, Davison emphasized these designated zones will exclude locations that provide substance abuse treatment and permanent supportive housing, ensuring that access to essential services remains unaffected.
Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson also voiced her support for the initiative, stressing the critical need for more resources to tackle drug-related crimes, especially given the city's limited existing tools and capabilities.
"We have to be mindful of the fact that we don't have unlimited police resources," Nelson said. "Therefore, we have to focus them where they will make the most good and be strategic about our deployment of not just police but also social service resources."
The proposed bill introduces a new approach, allowing exclusion orders—including specific time frames when offenders are not permitted in designated areas—to be determined on a case-by-case basis. This marks a departure from the previous norm, where there was no legislative framework to prohibit offenders from certain zones.
"Before, there was not a legislative tool for it, so this is one where we are providing it legislatively, and so conditions of release would then designate the location of that," Davison explained.
Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, who supports the initiative, spoke alongside Davison, emphasizing the urgent need for additional resources to address drug-related crimes despite the city's limited resources.
She further noted, "Municipalities have similar things, so it is around, but we have just decided to put this forward legislatively, as in the past, it was just a function of a prosecutor requesting it and a judge issuing that."
Jon Scholes, CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, also voiced strong support for the bill, preemptively addressing potential criticism from those against the bill, particularly from those who may have advocated defunding the Seattle Police Department.
"They're going to say it's not nice or fair to the folks that are going to be impacted, to the people being arrested. They'll say very little about what's nice and fair to the barista that just quit her job at 1st and Pike because it's too unsafe to work there, or the small businesses that are spending 1000's of dollars every month on security, or the residents that have to wade through fentanyl marketplace with folks that are aggressive or folks lighting fires in their alleys behind apartments," Scholes said. "They'll say very little about what is nice and fair to the folks that are dealing with that reality on a daily basis."
Scholes did still emphasize the need to continue exploring alternative approaches to policing.
The SODA legislation will be introduced to the Seattle City Council's Public Safety Committee on August 13, 2024, and the committee will vote to approve or reject the proposal.
