Mayor Katie Wilson, alongside representatives from other regional departments, sat in to listen and respond to community comments about safety concerns.
Mayor Katie Wilson, alongside representatives from other regional departments, sat in to listen and respond to community comments within north Seattle about public safety concerns from various neighborhoods.
The North Precinct Advisory Council (NPAC), which meets monthly to discuss issues within the police department's largest precinct, brought the mayor and members of the city attorney's office, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO), and a captain of the north precinct to listen to residents from across the region at Epic Life Church.
Outspoken community members from neighborhoods like Aurora Avenue North, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, and the University District sat on stage alongside Mayor Wilson, her Public Safety Advisor, and others. More than 100 people packed the church to listen in with the mayor in attendance.
Wilson touched briefly on her outlook for the city's public safety approach by stating that she is committed to finishing the search for a new Seattle Police Chief by the end of the year so the department can have a leader at the start of 2027 and they can continue to build progress.
Wilson touted improved crime statistics for the last three months compared to the same time in 2025, with shootings and shots fired being down 31%, reported violent crime dropping 15%, and noting that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has made 838 arrests compared to 653 last summer.
"These numbers absolutely do not suggest that everything has been resolved, but they do show that focused, coordinated work does make a difference," she said.
Members of the community proceeded to take to the microphone to share their experiences, such as the presence of prostitution and subsequent violence from pimps along the Aurora Avenue north corridor, which came to a head in the late spring and early summer.
Then residents reported constant shootings connected to pimp disputes over women working on the street, which were spilling into their neighborhoods and leading to gunfire striking homes and vehicles.
It led to residents building their own street barriers to keep cars out, with the city taking action after repeated demands and installing their own official barriers on four select streets along the avenue.
While residents say it has made a difference since, they also say that it has only pushed the open prostitution onto other streets, such as 109th along Aurora Avenue North.
"Not to be crass, but if you go there in the evening, it literally looks like a drive-through for prostitution," said Erin, who represents the North Aurora Neighbors Coalition. "We've counted just on our own, just over 100 cars a night, that go through daily."
Other concerns came from homeowners near Sandel Park, an area that KOMO News has previously reported on, where recreational vehicles have reportedly surrounded the park for months -- with some bringing drug-related activity with them.
Just last week, neighbors watched bounty hunters fire projectiles into an RV as the occupant tried to drive away. A few dozen children were on the nearby playground as it unfolded.
In May, Seattle Police detectives tracked down a man seen in KOMO News crew footage who they recognized as having warrants. After conducting surveillance and noting behaviors of drug dealing, they approached the suspect, Daniel Duim, and arrested him after he tried running away.
A warrant found methamphetamine, fentanyl, and clear plastic bags inside the RV he was occupying. He is set to stand trial in October of 2026.
Residents like Chris Panagiotou say he's seen drug dealing and the cooking of drugs coming from inside some of the RVs around the park, including one right in front of his home.
He said that neighbors have created a database of 22 individual RVs that have been parked around Sandel Park over the last several months at one time or another.
"We're specifically asking for a dedicated unit to our police beat and a dedicated parking enforcement officer," said Allison Blevins, another concerned neighbor living near the park.
Meanwhile, across the precinct in the University District, Trevor Peterson who sits on the Board of Directors for the University District Partnership (UDP), which coordinates with the city, police, and the neighborhood. He does so after running the University Book Store for decades.
Peterson said that in all his years, it's the worst open-air drug market that he's seen evolve within the neighborhood.
"The local businesses near the drug market don't take out their trash at night," Peterson said, describing how the situation has "marred" the area, and asked the city for a bit more help to address it.
Some speakers even addressed Wilson directly, and in one case, asked her about the city's looming budget cuts as Seattle faces a large budget deficit, and how that may impact the police and the overall approach to public safety.
"I will say for me, it has been my highest priority to preserve as much as possible -- direct programs and services -- that are impacting people's lives," Wilson said, while also stating it's a priority for the city to have a larger police force next year than it does this year.
She also spoke about maintaining the expanded hours of the city's CARE team to continue taking an empathetic and considerate approach to crisis calls on the street, instead of using police officers.
Wilson said she'll present her proposed budget to the city council within a few weeks.
