Category: Police

Renton Highland resident Art Jenkins is asking Renton to enforce its nuisance codes

Written by Randy Corman 10 Comments
Art Jenkins holds a box full of envelopes containing 9-1-1 emergency call records for his condominium complex, at a meeting of “For a Better Renton” on September 4th.

Art Jenkins has become so frustrated with a lack of City of Renton action to enforce nuisance ordinances and state laws at his condo that he began a petition on August 13. He has already gathered 680 signatures.  His Petition can be found here. 

Mr. Jenkins’ situation raises red flags about whether Renton is adequately prepared to manage the inevitable conflicts that arise with higher levels of density, even as the city completes a city-wide rezone that allows fourplexes in nearly all of Renton’s single-family neighborhoods.  His concerns also raise questions about city liability if anything tragic happens; just two weeks ago King County had to pay $21 million to a dog-attack victim after King County failed to address numerous code-compliance complaints.

I had a chance to meet with Mr.Jenkins at a recent meeting of the “For a Better Renton” organization, where he shared the details of his ten-year struggle to keep his condominium unit habitable in the midst of constant flooding from above, nearby drug crimes, firearm concerns, fights, noise, and other challenges that are beyond his control.  He’s worked with his condo association as much as he could, even serving as a member of his HOA board, but most of these problems are beyond the condo board’s authority or ability to effect change.

He brought a heavy box of papers with him that document all the 911 calls to the vicinity of his condo unit, activity that far surpasses the number of calls that define a “Chronic Nuisance Premises” in Renton’s 1-3-3 Nuisance Code.   The primary request of his petition, is that this Renton code be enforced.  He’s also asking Renton to enforce the applicable state laws, and to coordinate with King County Health Department to ensure King County’s codes are met.  Mr. Jenkins said he has reached out to King County directly regarding mold from the constant flooding and other health concerns he’s observed,  but King County said they need the City of Renton to take the lead on resolving these concerns.

Mr. Jenkins came across as pleasant, sensible, patient, and compassionate, even as he described an odyssey that would literally drive many people from their homes.   And though he has spent many thousands of dollars and countless hours mitigating the impacts and seeking assistance, he’s not looking to punish or seek retribution; he just wants the city to take actions that will allow him to peacefully live in his Renton home.

He’s encouraged that the petition has already gotten city attention, and a couple of Council Members have come out to see the situation for themselves.  He’s hoping more elected officials will come out, and then take action on his concerns.

I encourage you to read Mr. Jenkins petition, and sign it (electronically) if you feel so inclined.  I am one of the many hundreds of Renton residents that have signed it.  If Renton is going to begin replacing single-family homes with fourplexes throughout our entire city,  we’ll need nuisance code enforcement systems in place that can keep the peace and keep units habitable.

 

Fireworks continue to threaten Renton neighborhoods weeks after the 4th of July

Written by Randy Corman 11 Comments
According to witnesses, a fireworks mortar lit on a downtown sidewalk on Sunday August 24th set these trees and occupied home on fire. The house could have burned to the ground if not for the immediate response of attentive neighbors and Renton Fire Authority.
Emergency responders at the scene of August 24th fireworks blaze
Carter Farmer, who lives within a few hundred feet of the fire, had previously spoken to Renton’s Mayor and City Council on July 7th, seven weeks before this fire. She had warned that ongoing fireworks were continuing to be a problem in her neighborhood, and she had asked for better enforcement of fireworks laws.

Fireworks are illegal in Renton.  In 2006 Renton voters voted 62.57 %  – 37.43% to keep them illegal, confirming a 2004 vote by Renton City Council that first made fireworks illegal.  But enforcement of the ban has recently seemed spotty to non-existent, and many residents are now understandably complaining.  Among them is Carter Farmer, a North Renton neighborhood resident who took the Mayor and Council to task at a council meeting on July 7th, demanding action, after having sent them numerous emails and suggestions on the subject in previous years.  Ms. Farmer’s testimony can be watched here on the City’s Youtube Channel, at 41 minutes and 30 seconds in.  About seven weeks after she gave her testimony, a home near hers was set on fire by fireworks.

Renton’s voters and Renton Council made fireworks illegal after there were simply too many documented incidents of structural fires and wildfires, emergency room visits, and distress by residents and animals caused by fireworks on our streets.  In the year before the Council ban, both a new home and a City Parks Building burned to the ground after being set on fire by fireworks.  As urban wildfires across the west become more deadly every year, the ban on fireworks only makes more sense.

The year that Council implemented the fireworks ban in 2004, we knew many residents would miss the excitement, brilliance, and percussion of Fourth of July fireworks, so we initiated a new tradition of a professional fireworks show at Coulon Park.  While we knew that some residents may be tempted to light their own, we felt that holding the professional fireworks show and a city 4th of July celebration at our biggest beach park allowed us to direct  fireworks enthusiasts to the show instead– providing a necessary alternative to lighting fireworks throughout the whole city.  But a couple years ago the professional fireworks show was stopped, and this year Coulon Park was not even open for fourth of July BBQs after 7:00 PM.

The first year Renton cancelled the Coulon Fourth of July celebration, 2023, fireworks did a million dollars of damage at the Landing and put three businesses out of commission for a year.  The next year Renton experienced a threatening wildfire caused by fireworks, in which an apartment building could have been lost if not for the immediate response from Renton Fire Authority.

My recommendation would be to restore the City 4th of July Celebration, and simultaneously warn residents that Renton intends to aggressively enforce the fireworks ban in future year, with more fireworks confiscations and fines for violators.  Then, as we’ve done in the past, Council should insist on getting reports from Police and Fire Chiefs after each 4th of July with metrics about how many citations were issued and pounds of fireworks confiscated.  And Council should hold public meetings to gather ideas from residents like Ms. Farmer regarding how to better enforce the ban.

Some of the fireworks being lit in Renton violate just city laws, but many are also in violation of state laws.  Fireworks that send projectiles into the sky or make loud percussion sounds (booms) are not legal anywhere in the State of Washington outside of  Reservation land  (Reservation lands are subject to Federal Laws and Tribal laws, which allow some aerial and percussion fireworks when manufactured and sold to certain standards).  Penalties for lighting fireworks that are illegal in the state could be made more severe than penalties for lighting fountains, ground-flowers, or smokers.  In any case, all of these are illegal in Renton outside of licensed shows,  based on a democratic decision by nearly two out of three of Renton’s voters.  And while it may remain challenging to stop every violation on the evening of the 4th of July,  there should be no tolerance for continued fireworks use through the summer– it’s just too dangerous to our residents’ lives and property.

I would enjoy hearing from readers on this topic.  Please feel free to comment with your ideas, perspectives, and suggestions.  You may leave comments anonymously if you choose.

Long term crime trends in Renton, our state, and the USA

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments
Renton auto theft rates have become much worse over time, spiking during the (now-rescinded) police pursuit restrictions
US auto theft rates have trended down since 1990

A commenter on my previous blog entry requested long-term crime statistics for Renton, and I’m providing the information here.  The data was originally gathered by Renton Police Department, and then submitted to and maintained by the FBI.  The FBI Crime Data Explorer, where I acquired this data, can be found here.  The reporting systems aren’t perfect, but to my knowledge this is the best data we’re going to find for this time period.  (Renton provides five-year crime statistics on the City’s website, as I’ve previously discussed here, but does not supply statistics going back further.)

I’ve chosen to show homicide rates and auto thefts as representative samples on this post because these crimes have a high likelihood of having been consistently reported through the years, and they can help determine meaningful trends.

Unfortunately many serious crimes go unreported.  For example, it’s estimated that as many as 75 % or more of rapes go unreported, so an increase in reported rapes from one year to the next might represent an increase in reporting versus an increase in the crime. Many assaults and domestic violence crimes also go unreported.  But homicides have usually been reported through the years.

Similarly, shoplifting, petty theft and even burglaries have increasingly gone unreported in our state, but auto theft is usually reported due to insurance and licensing implications.  Auto theft is is also correlated to increases in other crimes, as autos are frequently stolen to facilitate both property crimes and violent crimes.

Lasty, I’ve included statistics on highway fatalities, since about half of fatal accidents are related to criminal driving offenses like DUI and reckless driving, and car crashes have a devastating impact on many people’s lives. For every fatality, there are about three serious maimings that impact victims’ long-term quality of life.  Much routine patrol work in our city and state is dedicated to reducing these crashes by pulling-over errant and criminally-reckless drivers.

In summary,  while local crime trends have somewhat improved in the last year, Renton and Washington crime numbers are near all-time highs, and have not kept pace with the reductions in crime across the US overall.

The following three charts are homicide statistics for Renton, State of Washington, and US from 1986-2024:

Renton homicides from 1986-2024
Washington state homicides from 1986-2024
US homicides 1986-2024

 

The following three charts are automobile theft statistics for Renton, State of Washington, and US from 1986-2024:

Renton auto thefts from 1986-2024
State of Washington auto thefts from 1986-2024

 

US auto thefts from 1986-2024

 

The following two charts are auto fatalities trends in Washington State and US:

Washington State Traffic Fatalities; increased 50% from 2019 to peak in 2023.  Source Link
US Traffic Fatalities; increased 18 % from 2019 to peak in 2021; Source link

Many Renton election watchers stunned by Renton Police Guild endorsement

Written by Randy Corman 24 Comments
This photo (taken two days ago) shows the continuing deterioration of the deathtrap Park Avenue office buildings through a gap in the unmaintained security fence.   Councilmember Rivera, chair of Renton’s Public Safety Committee, has repeatedly promised the public that the City has reached agreement with property owners to secure this site.  The lack of follow-through puts the public and first responders in danger.

In a move that looks a bit like Superman endorsing Lex Luthor for City Council, the Renton Police Guild leadership shocked many local election watchers by endorsing Councilmember Carmen Rivera’s reelection bid against challenger Mary Clymer.

Considering Carmen Rivera’s history of pushing to defund the police department and  curtail police ability to pursue law-breakers, and her inability as Public Safety chair to make progress on chronic nuisance properties that threaten our first responders, many Renton community leaders have been wondering why this valuable endorsement was given to her.

Recent publications have shown that Councilmember Rivera also has serious anger-management issues that she won’t acknowledge or own up to. She has left a trail of grieving victims of her bullying, many of them former allies that once trusted her.  She’s been arrested for domestic violence in the past, and caused at least one current council member to request legal protection from her.

In contrast to Councilmember Rivera’s record, challenger Mary Clymer has a long history of supporting Renton city employees and the community.  Ms. Clymer has a commitment to safety that she learned from her grandfather Earl Clymer, a two-term mayor of Renton who helped reverse rising crime rates in the early 1990’s.  And rather than let derelict buildings become blight, Ms. Clymer has been beautifying our older buildings through her dedication to public arts, often helping organize community murals and other beatifications– even wielding the paintbrushes herself.

I respectfully encourage the Guild to reevaluate this endorsement.   I would have expected this endorsement to go to the deserving Mary Clymer, who will make an extraordinary Renton City Council Member.

Renton’s well-equipped police station can trace its roots to a study that Mayor Earl Clymer commissioned in 1994. This study recommended a larger police station, which ultimately was the impetus to move Renton City Hall (including the police station) to its current larger location.

 

 

Derelict Park Ave parking garage to remain; it’s unusable without major investment

Written by Randy Corman 4 Comments
North Renton will soon be overwhelmed with cars and no parking on the west on Logan Ave, while to the east on Garden Ave they will have a four-story derelict, unusable parking garage

North Renton residents have been complaining for two years about the dangerous abandoned building complex on Park and 6th.  Renton Council’s Public Safety chair issued a statement a couple months ago assuring residents that the buildings would soon be demolished, and hopefully bring an end to the neighborhood’s suffering.

What the Public Safety Chair didn’t say in her statement was that the four-story parking garage on the site is not part of the demolition plan, and will be left in place after the demolition is complete. The sky bridges that connected the garage to the office building will be demolished along with the buildings.

The demolition permit covers the building on Park and the building on 6th. The parking garage, which is the large square in the center, will remain, as shown in this traffic plan.

I’ve not seen or heard of any structural, plumbing, electrical, or fire permits to restore this garage to usability.   If these permits are not applied for and issued, it will mean the garage will probably remain unusable, hazardous, and abandoned for years to come after the demolition is complete.

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Deathtrap buildings on Park Avenue unsecured a month after Public Safety Chair assured public they would remain secured

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments
Open sections in the chain link fence around the site give quick access to the dangerous buildings.

A month ago the North Renton Neighborhood turned out in force at a Renton council meeting, to beg for action in resolving the hazards and blight caused by the dystopian Park Avenue Buildings.  These formerly beautiful office buildings were allowed to swiftly fall into ruin over the past 18 months.

When the damage begun in 2023, many of us encouraged the city to save the multi-million dollar building complex by repairing the property  at owner expense through the enforcement and abatement process defined Renton’s Code Section 4-5-130 .  To meet code, the buildings needed some windows replaced, water dried out, some lights left on, and ideally (with owner coordination) a caretaker or non-profit tenant to keep the buildings looking occupied…the precise steps any good homeowner would take before an extended trip away from home.  The City could take the action to abate the building, and the expense could be billed to the owner and/or placed as a lien on the property.  The money would also come back to the city through property taxes many times over (as opposed to losing all property tax associated with the building, which is ultimately what happened).

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State House just passed Initiative 2113 on a 77-20 vote, restoring Police Pursuit Authority!

Written by Randy Corman 24 Comments

Breaking news update! Please see my previous blog entry for background.

The State House just passed the Police Pursuit Initiative 77-20, which will restore police pursuit policy generally back to pre-pandemic levels in 90 days.  This will be a big step forward in preventing reckless driving, car thefts, burglaries, and other crimes.

Renton’s two 11th district House Representatives Bergquist and Hackney voted YES on this initiative, splitting with their 11th district Senatorial Colleague Bob Hasegawa who voted NO.

I appreciate Rep. Bergquist’s and Rep. Hackney’s support of this important safety measure.

 

Here is the story in KOMO.

Washington State Senate votes to restore police pursuit authority to pre-pandemic status

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

After three years of severely limiting police pursuit authority amongst skyrocketing car thefts and highway fatalities, Washington Senate has FINALLY voted to restore police pursuit authority. If the State House does the same thing, our police will once again be able to pursue car thieves, reckless drivers, burglars, and others causing increased mayhem in our cities.

The Senate voted to enact Citizens Initiative 2113.  If the Senate and the House both choose to enact the initiative, then it will become law.  The Governor does not need to sign an initiative adopted by both the House and Senate.  If the House chooses to reject it, then it will go to the voters.

The vote was 36 voting yes, to 13 voting no.  Renton’s own 11th district Senator, Bob Hasegawa,  was amongst the 27 percent voting “no”.

Please encourage our State House Representatives to vote “yes” on this important safety bill and make it law.

Representative Steve Bergquist, Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov

Representative David Hackney, David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov

See my previous blog entry for more background on this topic, including the 500% increase in Renton car thefts that has occured after the police pursuit restrictions went into effect.

More information on review of this initiative in the legislature, including voting and hearing records, can be found here.

21 vehicles stolen in Renton in the past 24 hours; State Legislators must act now

Written by Randy Corman 7 Comments
A screenshot of the ValleyCom 911 dispatch log, showing steady Renton Police dispatches for stolen cars this morning

 

Renton cars are being stolen at record rates in Renton. Our Valley Comm dispatch center shows twenty-one vehicles stolen in the past 24 hours.  Many of these cars will be found extensively damaged and abandoned within days, having been used in commission of other crimes. Just one year ago I shared that Renton car thefts had increased 70% from the year prior, reaching 5 per day.  Today’s rate is a 420% increase over that high March 2023 average.

If this rate of vehicle theft were to continue, Renton would see 7665 vehicles stolen in the next year, representing about 10 percent of all our vehicles and $100-150 million dollars in vehicle damages. (This amount of money is approximately three times Renton’s entire annual police budget).  While the victims of the car theft suffer the most in these thefts, all Renton motorists will pay for this damage through higher insurance rates.

Many of these cars will be driven through the doors of local businesses, used in other burglaries and crimes, and driven recklessly through our city.  In most cases, Renton Police have been forbidden to stop them.  Unless officers see certain violent crimes being committed (and burglaries and reckless driving don’t count), the officers can’t pursue these vehicles under the 2021 Washington Police pursuit law.

There are some state legislators that somehow believe that having 21 cars stolen in Renton every night– driven recklessly through our city and crashed into our buildings– has made us safer because we are not put at risk by police chases any more.

As a scientist and engineer, I assure you these legislators are absolutely wrong about this.  Since passing the law in 2021, Washington’s highway fatalities have been skyrocketing to the highest levels in decades, not dropping as these legislators over-simplistically predicted.  Hundreds of additional state residents are being killed annually on our highways since the time the police were banned from pursuing stolen cars.  While other states are getting safer, Washington is getting far more dangerous.

While our fatalities skyrocket, we watch powerlessly as unlicensed juveniles increasingly race stolen cars for fun, and criminals drive any speed they like.  While the limitations on police chases have saved approximately three lives per year in Washington, this small gain is not nearly worth the hundreds of lives lost statewide, and the billions in statewide crime and damages.  Tragically for our next generation, these policies are also teaching some of our youth that crime pays more than going to school and learning job skills, curtailing their opportunities to build the fulfilling, healthy lives we all want for them.

Our State Legislators are reviewing the police pursuit legislation this coming week, and Renton residents are encouraged to let them know how you feel about letting our cars get stolen with impunity.  Also, tell them you want to be safe driving on our roads again, and you are getting tired of seeing the fronts of your favorite business covered in plywood.

You can email your legislators at the following addresses:

Senator Bob Hasegawa, Bob.Hasegawa@leg.wa.gov

Representative Steve Bergquist, Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov

Representative David Hackney, David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov

 

These vehicle thefts all happened within minutes of each other. Valley Comm continuously updates the previous 24-hours of calls on it’s website, in this format.  It’s not possible for readers to sort by call type, so I’ve extracted 24 hours of vehicle theft data in the table below.

 

Below is the extract of auto-theft calls to 911 in the past 24 hours, including the partial address where each vehicle theft was reported.  (Note that there may be others: if a victim filed an online reporting instead of calling 911 to report their car stolen, it would not appear on this list.)

For more information on this topic, including links to additional source data, click here.

Park Avenue office buildings, sold by Boeing in 2021, are vandalized and heading toward ruin

Written by Randy Corman 16 Comments
The glass doors on 500 Park Avenue have become plywood. And the beautiful glass wrapped staircases that jet out in front of the building, giving the building distinction, have been repeatedly damaged by vandals.

 

Those of us who worked for Boeing have great memories of the sprawling company office campus in North Renton, with some of the nicest buildings being 535 N 6th street and 500 Park Avenue North.  Both buildings, built in the 1980s, offered excellent work spaces and conference rooms, easy parking, and nice views.  Thousands of us either worked-in or visited these warm, inviting engineering and logistics centers, sometime around the clock when big projects were in-work,  letting ourselves in using our badges that functioned like key-cards.  Boeing always cared for them meticulously, the way the company oversees all of its properties.  Company employees affectionately referred to the buildings by their company codes;  the larger one was the 10-16 and the smaller one the 10-13.

500 Park Avenue North from near the larger building at 535 N 6th street

 

These buildings were sold by Boeing to an LLC owned by a San Diego Company in 2021 as part of a property consolidation , and unfortunately the buildings have been vacant ever since.  During that time Renton started seeing worsening crime problems throughout the area. Renton also saw dramatic increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness in Renton, a challenge actually made worse by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. The agency bussed hundreds of chronically homeless individuals from downtown Seattle to Renton hotels, and when an individual broke too many rules, the Authority would evict them out of their hotel space and onto Renton streets.

While Boeing never would have let it happen under their watch, the buildings under new ownership are beginning to look abandoned, with broken windows on all sides, doors that appear boarded up and barricaded, metal gratings and fixtures stolen for scrap, and HVAC and electric service stripped of parts.

Two weeks ago there was a fire on the first floor of the taller building, and the Renton Fire Authority extinguished the flames and rescued two people and a dog from the roof.  It’s obvious that people have been entering these buildings without authorization.  Broken windows have been covered with wood to block intruders, but it does not appear that anyone is currently doing fire repair and remediation work, like drying out the interior before mold sets in.  The other building, the 10-13, is missing some of it’s upper windows, letting the elements get in.

Renton Regional Fire Authority put out a fire in 535 Park Ave North on June 11, and rescued two people and a dog from the roof of the building

 

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Renton Council should refocus on Priority 1 police response times to improve public safety

Written by Randy Corman 16 Comments
Renton police officer near McKnight Middle School after a motorist racing at high speed flipped their car and landed partially in the playfield (fortunately they survived).  Police are typically the first professional responders to reach serious car accidents and other dangerous situations.

 

Yesterday we learned that Priority 1 (highest priority) police response times in the City of Seattle are now averaging ten minutes, a terrifyingly-long amount of time if an intruder is breaking into your home, threatening you on the street, or robbing your business. It’s not surprising that residents and businesses have been purchasing more guns than ever in our region out of fear that the police won’t come in time.  With proper political leadership and planning, these police responses should be occurring in one to two minutes, not ten minutes.

When I was on city council we tracked Priority 1 response times as one of our most important city metrics. We worked to ensure our police had the staff and resources to be anywhere in town in an extreme emergency within 60-90 seconds, sometimes even faster, and we were able to achieve this goal in most cases.

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Renton City Council gives final approval to Renton’s drug ordinance

Written by Randy Corman 9 Comments
Mayor Pavone asks  the clerk to conduct the roll-call vote on Council President Valerie O’Halloran’s motion to approve Renton’s new drug ordinance. The ordinance passed 7-0.  (Council Member Ruth Perez was in attendance virtually)

 

Renton City Council passed the second-and-final reading of Renton’s new drug ordinance last night, with all seven Council Members voting in support.  The drug law targets possession of highly addictive “hard-drugs”, like fentanyl, meth, heroine, and stolen prescription drugs, along with the paraphernalia associated with these substances.  (The law has no impact on cannabis products). The law is intended to get the user into treatment and recovery whenever possible, with the threat of jail and fines used as a deterrent to continued drug use.

The State Legislature (almost-miraculously) introduced and adopted a statewide drug law between first reading of Renton’s ordinance a week ago and Renton’s final reading last night, and the unusual circumstances left a small amount of uncertainty about what Renton Council might choose to do with their local ordinance.  I had anticipated in this blog entry on Wednesday that the city attorney would make adjustments to the Renton ordinance to align it with state law and then the adjusted ordinance would be passed; and that is what happened.

The State law gives local governments authority for controlling drug paraphernalia, which is covered by the new Renton ordinance and will play an important role in keeping parks,  sidewalks, and flowerbeds clear of discarded drug materials.  The drug paraphernalia section in Renton’s ordinance will also make it easier to confront someone who has just smoked or injected a drug; while the drug may be gone at that point, possession of the paraphernalia would be grounds for arrest and ideally the drug user’s first step in being guided toward treatment and a sobriety.

Unlike last week’s public comment period, when two-thirds of the testimony encouraged the Council to decriminalize drugs, this week’s public testimony was provided by nine community members who all supported the new Renton drug law.  There was no testimony opposed to the new law. (Decriminalization of drugs was off the table because of the new State law, but the drug paraphernalia restrictions potentially could have caused controversy). The speakers gave compelling testimony.  Most were members of Renton’s business community who have witnessed much of the suffering of the drug users first-hand, and have struggled to cope with the side-effects of drug use like crime, property damage, and discarded materials.

I was one of nine members of the community who testified last night in favor of Renton’s new drug ordinance.  (Six speakers spoke in the Council Chamber, and three were virtual)

 

The complete council meeting with all the public testimony can be viewed here.

 

Renton police give sobering update on recent gun violence in our city

Written by Randy Corman 5 Comments
Deputy Chief Jeffrey Hardin (right) provided a detailed update of gun violence in Renton to the Public Safety Committee. Commander Ryan Rutledge (left) looks on.

 

Deputy Chief Jeffrey Hardin provided a detailed update on gun violence in Renton to the Public Safety Committee on Monday, Feb 27.  Committee members and the public listened in rapt attention to the sobering statistics, tragic crime details, and  thorough response by Renton police.  His report speaks for itself, driving home the importance of our professional and capable police department and the challenging times we are facing.  Here is Deputy Chief Hardin’s report:

Public Safety Committee 2/27/23

Update on gun violence in the city.

In 2022 there were 42 Threats with a firearm (20% increase), 69 Armed Robberies (50% increase), and 14 Armed car jackings (70% increase).

There was also a 34% increase of shots fired from 2021. This includes, homicides, shots fired with a subject injured, shots fired with property damage, and illegal discharges.

In 2022, we had seven homicides all involving a firearm. Of those, three are in custody, one committed suicide at the time of crime, the fourth is close to being charged (waiting for lab results) and the fifth has been identified (waiting for witness confirmation for probable cause). Of the remaining homicides, one is still being actively investigated and the other has been moved to cold case status due to lack of evidence and cooperating witnesses and victims (shooting at musician’s hall).

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Renton Council’s Public Safety Committee shows interest in boosting police staffing

Written by Randy Corman 9 Comments
Renton Councilmembers Van and Rivera look on as Renton Police Chief Jon Schultd describes the staffing challenges his department is working to stay ahead of

 

Public Safety Committee is one of Renton Council’s six standing subcommittees.  With homicides and robberies rapidly rising to all-time highs in our city, these meetings have sparked unusual public interest lately. Yesterday’s meeting covered several important topics, and I’ll touch on more of them in later postings.  Today I’ll focus on police staffing.

Renton leaders and residents need to keep a close eye on police staffing as our heavily-burdened police department begins a year that includes at least six likely retirements of veteran officers, and the potential for two-to-three times that number based on the demographics of the workforce.  Given that the process of finding and training new officers takes a year at minimum, the work to keep adequate police staffing has to be on-going.

During the meeting that included both a report about major crime rate jumps and the report about likely police retirements, Councilmember Ed Prince prompted Chief Schultd to discuss how Renton police staffing numbers compared to other cities, and what the chief might consider as ideal for our city.

Chief Schultd noted he was going from memory, recalling that Renton has been operating with approximately 1.3 officers per thousand residents, while many areas in the nation operate closer to 2 per thousand (see his followup email below for more precision). The Chief’s response is in line with research by the International Association of Professional City/County Managers (ICMA), which commissioned a report on the topic here.   These numbers suggest Renton could have as many as 50% more officers, and be consistent with national and international staffing levels.  While there has been no time in our history when we actively defunded our police department, it’s clear by these numbers that Renton Police Department has been operating very lean for some time.  While this may have been okay in the past, it’s not working as well lately.

For those of us in attendance concerned about increasing crime rates, the committee discussion was encouraging.  Councilmembers Prince and Van showed interest in possibly increasing funding, and Rivera nodded in apparent agreement.

This report was a status and won’t result in any specific action by itself other than approval for the Chief to continue rigorously working to backfill expected coming vacancies in his department.  But for the full Council and the community of Renton,  the stunning reports about high crime rates and minimum police staffing should set the stage for  a more well-staffed department.  The City and community should be working together to find more money for the police department.  New funding could include bolstering behavioral health units that were added in the past two years, and have proven to be of great service to the department.

The City operates on a tight budget with little margin for additional police.  If more money can’t be found,  the Renton community should even consider a voter levy to add the necessary officers and behavioral health specialists needed to protect public safety.

Note: The meeting agenda for this meeting can be found here

_____________________________________________________

Post-Meeting Police Chief email followup to Public Safety Committee:

Chief Jon Schultd had indicated he was commenting from memory during the meeting when asked how Renton staffing compared to national averages, so he followed up with more precise data in an email yesterday.  The conclusions don’t really change. Here is an excerpt from his email to public safety committee:

Good morning Public Safety Committee Members,

Thank you again for taking time out of your schedule to meet with us yesterday.

I wanted to make sure that I gave you accurate information last evening when asked about staffing numbers.  According to the FBI the 2021 national average of commissioned officers per 1,000 residents was 2.33 ( 2021 LE Employment by State.pdf ).   The average for the State of Washington was 1.35, and if I am doing my math correctly the City of Renton is at 1.24 when fully staffed. 

Jon Schuldt  Chief, Renton Police Department

 

 

Important Public Safety Committee Meeting Monday Feb 27th, 4:45 PM

Written by Randy Corman 14 Comments

FOR THOSE TRYING TO LOG IN, PLEASE USE THIS LINK:

Click here for zoom link to Public Safety meeting

 

Click here for zoom link to above meeting

Crime and safety has been on everyone’s radar recently, and many readers may be interested in attending this Public Safety Committee meeting.  You may attend either in person or by zoom.  The City Council conference room will only comfortably seat about 10 guests in addition to the meeting attendees, so zoom may be a good option for many of you.

Council Members on this committee are:

Chair: Kim-Khánh Văn
Vice-Chair: Ed Prince
Member: Carmen Rivera

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