Public Safety

Issue

  • Gang membership continues to grow.  Snohomish County alone has 60 identified gangs.
  • Spouse and child abuse are intolerable crimes.  Many abusers learned their behavior growing up in abusive families.  In 2007 there were 1760 known fatalities from child abuse.  Over 70% of woman injured in domestic violence cases are injured after separation.
  • The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that smoking and drugs cost $468 billion annually.  Besides resulting in poor health and crime, substance abuse contributes to other costly social problems like homelessness, domestic violence and child neglect/abuse.
  • Eight Washington State police officers were killed in the line of duty from the beginning of 2009 until today.  Five were killed in pre-meditated attacks and another during a domestic violence call.  The remaining two were killed in traffic related incidents.

Solution

  • Gangs are a community problem that requires community involvement.  We need to ensure that all partners involved in the fight have the resources necessary to be effective whether it is law enforcement, housing authorities or private groups like Cocoon House.
  • Support legislation such as HB 2415 which increases the penalties for criminal street gang tagging and graffiti and enhances sentencing for gang members that commit a criminal street gang-related felony offense.
  • Because family abuse is often learned behavior, emphasis needs to be placed on early treatment of victims.  At the same time, sentencing guidelines for restraint order violators need to be strengthened.  We cannot tolerate a man who beats his wife, gets a restraining order, and returns to beat her again.
  • More money designated for combating drugs needs to be directed toward prevention, research and treatment.  Most treatment programs are cheaper than incarceration and are more effective at preventing recidivism.
  • Establish a crime of rendering criminal assistance in the 1st degree for persons aiding perpetrators that kill policeman, fireman and/or emergency workers.