City of Seattle Announces Safer Seattle Community Forums this Summer

Marla Beaver
8 hours ago
3 min read

Seattle – Today, the City of Seattle announced a series of seven community safety forums being held in neighborhoods throughout the summer. The forums will feature Police Chief Shon Barns sharing his vision for Seattle-Centric policing, provide progress updates on the One Seattle Restoration Framework, and engage community in discussions with departments about what public safety means to them and their concerns.

The first forum will be for District 2 on Thursday, July 10, at Rainier Community Center from 6-7:30 PM. Seating is limited, people can RSVP to reserve a spot: register here.

“Public safety is not just our first charter responsibility as a City, it is the top issue for our community. We are making great strides under our One Seattle Restoration Framework, and I’m excited for people to hear more about our progress and plans at our Creating a Safer Seattle forums,” said Mayor Harrell. “We know there is still work to do to ensure everyone in every neighborhood feels safe and is secure, which is why these forums are an essential tool to both collect feedback and hear residents’ ideas for improvement. Seattle is safer and stronger when we all make our voices heard, I encourage everyone to attend the forum happening in your neighborhood this summer.”

There will be seven community safety forums throughout the summer, one in each council district, with additional details and registration links to be shared in the coming weeks. The second forum will be for District 4 at the Magnuson Community Center on July 15 from 6-7:30 PM. Seating is limited, people can RSVP to reserve a spot: register here.

“Public safety is a shared responsibility, built on a foundation of strong partnerships between law enforcement and the communities we serve," said Police Chief Shon Barnes. “True progress comes from broad community engagement. We are committed to transparency in our operations, knowing that true, meaningful engagement and accountability are essential elements for building and maintaining public trust.”

Last year Mayor Harrell launched the Creating a Safer Seattle community forums as a way to hear from community during the development of the One Seattle Restoration Framework. Community input collected at the forums directly informed the strategies and prioritization of the framework, and the follow-up forums this year will be a chance to collect feedback on how the City is addressing the concerns identified last year.

Reported crime in Seattle has continued to decrease since the implementation of the framework. In the first five months of 2025, every single month had fewer reports of violent crime (-13%), property crime (-9%), and total crime (-6%) than in the same period in 2024. This builds on the progress underway since Mayor Harrell took office in 2022, with reported total crime down 7% from 2022 to 2024.

“Our City is making progress on public safety, and representatives from the Seattle Fire Department will be in attendance at all of the public safety forums this summer,” said Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. “Our firefighter/EMTs and paramedics respond to hundreds of emergency calls each day, where we interact with the people we serve. We look forward to hearing direct feedback from our community members.”

One of the most successful and visible of the Restoration Framework developed through the forums was the creation of the Downtown Activation Team (DAT), which has had strong initial results in its Downtown and Chinatown-International District pilots. The DAT brings together nearly 15 City departments with partners and service providers like the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) Ambassadors, and We Deliver Care.

“Candid and ongoing dialogue with community members is fundamental to good public safety design. In the CARE department, we anchor all of our decisions and recommendations in how to best meet the needs of our neighbors,” said CARE Chief Amy Barden. “Public safety forums help us to build stronger systems, illuminate structural issues and service gaps, and deepen our empathy and understanding. And, they provide an opportunity for public servants to be transparent with and accountable to community members.”

The One Seattle Restoration Framework is a comprehensive approach for a safer city, recognizing the work of improving safety is not confined to one department and must be embedded in everything the City does. Grounded in feedback from the community and research-based best practices, the framework lays out six key near and long-term strategies guiding the ongoing tactics and actions of the City, which the table discussions at the forums will build on: