SEATTLE — After serving as the first and only acting chief of Seattle's Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE), Amy Smith has been appointed permanent chief by the city council.
Smith has led the department since its inception last fall.
"I want to get people out of these cycles of crime and crisis," she said. "I care so much about people. I just do. I can see a future state where we prevent suffering and unnecessary death."
In her role, Smith oversees 911 calls and dispatch for police, fire and the CARE crisis response team.
The unarmed behavioral health professionals are dispatched to situations that aren't threatening or violent in nature. Smith said in more than 700 total calls, police have rarely been needed to assist. She added that because dispatch is handled by the same team, police can be positioned nearby without intervening.
The model has also allowed for police to respond to more pressing emergencies, Smith said.
"They don't want to go to the calls they're not trained for. They want to do police work and we need that in Seattle," she told KING 5.
Smith said creating a more efficient 911 system is a priority; she's also working to secure partnerships with other agencies to help care for the people they interact with.
Part of her plan is to streamline the process of connecting individuals with community services, especially if they have a previous history with certain organizations.
"Right now, we've had this bifurcated public safety response and then a community response," she said. "There's all this duplication, so I'm starting to see us as the through line, sort of the convener of all these different responders in the system."
Smith's appointment runs through July 31, 2028.