The Seattle University Department of Criminal Justice recently held its final Micro Community-Policing dialogue of summer 2024 for the Southwest Precinct, presenting findings from the 2023 Seattle Public Safety Survey. Dr. Jackie Helfgott, Professor and Director of the Crime & Justice Research Center, shared key insights into community perceptions of safety and policing.
The 2023 survey, which garnered over 11,000 responses citywide, revealed some notable shifts in public concerns. For the first time, traffic safety emerged as the top citywide concern, followed by police capacity and property crime. In the Southwest Precinct specifically, police capacity remained the primary concern, with traffic safety dominating narrative comments.
Dr. Helfgott highlighted that the Southwest Precinct stands out in several areas:
- It has the highest ratings for police legitimacy across the city.
- Social cohesion in the Southwest Precinct is the highest citywide.
- Informal social control is higher than the city average.
- Social disorganization is lower than other precincts.
- Interestingly, fear of crime is higher in the Southwest Precinct compared to the citywide average, despite strong social cohesion.
The survey also revealed significant variations within the Southwest Precinct itself. Police legitimacy ratings ranged from 32 (in South Delridge) to 57.4 (in Pigeon Point) on a 100-point scale. Fear of crime scores varied from 33 in Commercial Harbor Island to 45 in Westwood/Roxhill/Arbor Heights.
Dr. Helfgott noted a citywide trend of declining police legitimacy ratings since 2020, coupled with increases in social cohesion and informal social control. She also pointed out an intriguing linear relationship between age and police legitimacy ratings, with younger respondents generally giving lower scores than older residents.
The annual Seattle Public Safety Survey, now in its 10th year, will run again from October 15th through November 30th, 2024. This non-probability survey aims to capture community perceptions across Seattle's 58 micro-communities, providing valuable insights for law enforcement and community leaders alike.
