SEATTLE — A new report from Seattle's City Auditor looks at where overdoses and crime are concentrated in the city.
The audit also laid out several recommendations that Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson wants to implement right away.
The audit highlighted hot spots where drug overdoses and crime were at their worst. It listed 10 continuous streets that had more than 100 combined incidents of drug overdoses and crime. Many of these areas were in parts of 3rd Avenue, downtown Seattle, the Chinatown International District, and Belltown neighborhoods.
The audit was commissioned by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and former City Council President Debora Juarez last year.
The report offered eight recommendations, which Nelson is on board with.
"It offers a roadmap that we can implement right now to make a real difference," Nelson said. "It identifies existing resources, and also strategies that other jurisdictions have employed that have proved effective."
Some of the recommendations include adopting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration place-based prevention work with more recovery support, creating better coordination efforts with city agencies similar to work being done in Snohomish County, and using help from federal agencies like the DEA and U.S. Attorney's office to investigate and prosecute fatal overdoses.
"One of them is treating overdoses as a potential crime scene," Nelson said. "That could help better identify drug dealing, and in places where these overdoses are concentrated."
Recommendations include examining current contracts with provider agencies. The audit found overdoses are happening inside and outside of permanent support housing. Nelson said those facilities need more recovery support.
"When we think about fentanyl, and the fact that it's so cheap, ubiquitous and deadly, it means that we cannot keep on operating under our same old strategies and approaches, that is always been something that I've been saying," Nelson said.
Those who live and work in the areas laid out in the audit addressed the city council Thursday afternoon as it digested the findings.
That included the Downtown Seattle Association.
"It confirms one of the worst kept secrets in Seattle, that we know that there's a lot of crime that's associated with areas where there's a lot of drug activity," said Jon Scholes, Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO. "I hope this report gives us some focus and clear actions we can take to create a safer city for everybody."
Scholes said those who live, work, and visit the area deserve a great and safe experience.
"We need to intervene in these circumstances, not just walk by as a city we've been walking by for too long and there's a lot of cost and impact to doing that," Scholes said.
Nelson said some council members are considering new public safety measures and she wants to meet with the Mayor's office about the audit's recommendations.
"Council passes laws and makes the budget but the executive owns the outcome and implements the laws that council passes," Nelson said. "We have to be joined at the hip with the Mayor's administration to get real work done and I hope this audit does catalyze that."
You can read the full audit and its findings here.