(The Center Square) – Violent crime in the commercial core of downtown Seattle dropped 36% this summer compared to the same time period last year, according to the latest data from the Downtown Seattle Association’s Downtown Revitalization Dashboard. Mayor Bruce Harrell plans to keep that trend going.
The Emerald City continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Worker foot traffic last month remained below pre-pandemic levels at 62% of September 2019’s daily average. However, occupied apartment units downtown grew to nearly 60,700 – a 4% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024 and a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2019.
Downtown Seattle Association President Jon Scholes says the downtown area has become safer, citing data showing a 36% decline in violent crime incidents downtown from June to August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. According to the association, that was the lowest number of incidents for the summer since 2017.
“For downtown to thrive, it first needs to be clean, safe and welcoming,” Scholes emailed The Center Square. “As the data indicates, we’ve made significant strides in public safety downtown and that’s come with more [police] presence and action from our elected leaders.”
Scholes was referring to Harrell’s Downtown Activation Plan, launched in 2023, which outlines short and long-term strategies to transform the area into a more residential neighborhood.
“Mayor Harrell has made downtown recovery from the lows of the pandemic a top priority, recognizing that it is the economic driver of our city and region and that it must be a safe, welcoming place for residents, workers, and visitors alike,” Callie Craighead, spokesperson for Harrell’s office, said in an email.
Craighead added that public safety challenges are being addressed through Seattle’s place-based approach to public health, which includes daily cleanings and proactive patrols by the Seattle Police Department.
Harrell’s 2026 proposed budget continues funding to revitalize downtown, with a focus on the city hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. Key allocations include: $13.2 million for small business support, such as filling vacant storefronts via the Seattle Restored program; $4 million to expand the Downtown Activation Team to nearby neighborhoods; and $3.6 million for removable vehicle barriers at Pike Place Market and Seattle Center to enhance pedestrian safety.
“We never promised an overnight fix to these complex challenges, but because these efforts remain consistent and the community has stuck with us, we are seeing real results to make downtown safer, cleaner, and more welcoming,” Craighead said.
But statistics don’t tell the whole story in that fear of crime – reflecting a disconnect between objective data and public perception – remains a reality.
“Though violent crime has dropped in Seattle over the past few years, fear of crime has not,” Carlton Winfrey, opinion columnist for The Seattle Times, wrote in a recent piece. “Harrell has made hiring more officers part of his anti-crime strategy, but with little net increase in the numbers. On the campaign trail he stresses it is not just hiring more officers that would make a difference, but hiring good officers. To do that it will take more, not less public dollars.
“On the topic of the mayor, many Seattleites cite that fear of crime and others say they never see him. Harrell begs to differ. He knows visibility matters, and since the primary he’s been out and about more frequently — partly as mayor and partly as candidate — and doing things he probably never thought he’d do.”
The Center Square asked Harrell about how he plans to keep up the momentum in fighting crime in the downtown area.
Harrell said lingering public safety concerns are being addressed through outreach teams consisting of people with lived experience who can establish relationships with those who are loitering and those committing crimes like using drugs in public.
“We’re investing in organizations to [make those relationships] and to do it aggressively,” Harrell told The Center Square. “We want our police officers out of the car and [to] make sure they are capable of making arrests, and we want our CARE Department making sure that people are getting treatment, so we’ve laid up a foundation to make sure that downtown can be vibrant.”
The mayor also pointed out the importance of culture and arts as an element in addressing public safety in the city’s downtown area. Harrell noted that murals, a painting or other work of art executed directly on a wall, can serve to disincentivize criminal behavior; the thinking being that murals signal a space is cared for and can deter crime by attracting more people to keep eyes on the area.
