SEATTLE — A new report from the Seattle City Auditor said the city can do more to tackle organized crime.
It’s become such a problem, in 2022, Seattle police got 13,103 calls from the top 100 retail locations in the city. Responding to those calls cost police officers more than 18,000 hours of time, which the report said is equivalent to the annual work of nine full-time patrol officers.
Even with the high number of calls, the city auditor’s office said it’s a crime that’s under-reported and is encouraging businesses to call the police because it's a crime impacting small and large retailers across the city.
“We need to take stock in the fact that we need to be deploying our resources most effectively for what's at the core of this violence which is retail theft combined with the drug trade,” said Seattle Councilmember Andrew Lewis during a community crime meeting earlier this week.
Councilmember Lewis and Councilmember Lisa Herbold requested the audit.
“This is a complex issue and everything that we can do needs to be done,” said Claudia Gross Shader, director of Research and Evaluation at the Seattle Office of City Auditor.
In 2021, Seattle was ranked 8th for cities impacted by organized retail theft. On Friday, the city’s audit detailed seven recommendations to address the problem.
“We realized that the focus really should be on the fencing operations that underpin organized retail crime in Seattle,” Gross Shader said.
Gross Shader explained fencing is how stolen goods are monetized and boosters are the people recruited to steal the goods.
“Often the boosters are people who are quite vulnerable, including people who are homeless, and people who have substance use disorders,” Gross Shader said.
One recommendation is in-custody interviews with boosters to gather information on the operation.
“What we found in some cases is that a bottle of perfume may be stolen in North Seattle, and within 24 hours, it is on a shipping container to be sent out internationally and resold there,” Gross Shader said.
The report includes the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office checklist for police to make cases against retail crime operations.
“They're willing to train Seattle Police Department detectives in how to use this checklist and how to get the information that will make those prosecutions stick,” Gross Shader said.
Recommendations also include a new reporting system to police and better use of state and federal resources.
“Retail businesses affect the vibrancy of the city, we want our retail businesses to be able to thrive and be successful,” Gross Shader said.
Seattle City Council is set to discuss the recommendations during Tuesday’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee meeting.
To read the full audit’s recommendations: The City Can Do More to Tackle Organized Retail Crime in Seattle
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