If "till, sending someone to SCORE for a crime such as criminal trespass—which could mean that an unhoused person tried one too many times to use the bathroom at a grocery store—also seems like a waste of resources. SPD officers would have to drive that person about 16 miles to Des Moines, book them into SCORE, then drive 16 miles back"

If burning your shift driving 32 miles round trip away from your beat to transfer someone on a nothingburger offense to jail "erodes morale" less than not booking them into jail we have officers who chose the job for 100% ass backwards reasons

yeah why building housing when you can build prisons. this country is such a toilet.

This discussion could soon be moot if King County decides to move the downtown jail to Sodo

King County explores downtown revamp options, like moving jail to Sodo
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/king-county-explores-downtown-revamp-options-like-moving-jail-to-sodo/

can we not mollify
officers' need for an
incarceration or a good
beat-down with Robots made to
groan and scream when appropriate

they could curse them
and promise to Lock
Them Up for an
Eternity

and then go out fully
Relaxed and work
as Greeters or
Wtf & limit
Seattle's
Liability
Expo-
sure.

oh
and
Whattabout
Steroids use?

is that also
part of their
Union Package?

The United States has the most prisons in the world and the largest population of incarcerated people in the world (while only being approximately 5% of the world's population).

You know what creates the kind of society in which prisons are not needed? One that has a well-developed system of social services and a strong social safety net, which helps to prevent crime and support people in need.

The Netherlands may have a prison system, but they have nearly no incarcerated people. Why? Because they have a well developed system of social services and a strong social safety net. They don't allow people to live on the streets or starve to death or be slaughtered by gun violence EVERY SINGLE DAY.

The United States has enough money to literally take care of every human being worldwide 10X over. Instead we use it to enrich old white men and murder people worldwide.

But hey, continue to pretend this country isn't a toilet.

"...which could mean that an unhoused person tried one too many times to use the bathroom at a grocery store..."

Or it could mean that a person who has been through the diversionary program without changing behaviors has, yet again, returned to harassing the same business he was harassing before his previous arrests. But there's no way to tell, because the Stranger absolutely will not ever consider the effect crime, or the criminal justice system, have on victims of crimes. The Stranger will only ever consider the interests of the criminal.

bingo, xina.

‘Healthcare’ in America:
35,000,000 UN-insured
another 100,000,000
Underinsured

Childcare in America:
Unaffordable for
Most IF You can
Find some.

Housiing: housing as Commodity
Pricing evermore Americans
out into our Streets with
some locales outlawing
homelessness

with Despair running
rampant in America
and getting WORSE
may are turning
to Drugs for
solace

when they gave happy, caged rats
with freedom to choose between
food and cocaine they chose
the former . when they gave
Unhappy caged rats that
same Freedom they all
chose the Cocaine.

and Died.

when we allow
Billionaires the Right
to Accumulate as Much
as They see Fit -- and to Hell
with the Hindmost -- that'd be US,
the 'bottom' 90% -- we're choosing
to shove the USofA right straight
into a Toilet of Inequity cheered
on by those who (currently)
have Some but who’re a
broken transmission or
two weeks of Covid
Away from utter
Ruination thru
dire Poverty

but the Billionaires're
quite Crafty & can
manipulate the
populace into
seeing things
Their Way.

see:
suggsy
or dewey
or any of the
Apologists for
Massive Wealth
Accumulation who
believe They’re just
One lucky Break from
Billionaire Status themselves

@6 xina

Do you realize how wrong you are?

The United States is broke and has the largest debt of any nation in the world.

US Public Debt Per Capita is at a current level of $101.170.00, up from $98.830.00 last month and up from $93.980.00 one year ago.

So, I support your thought, once you pay off the $101,170.00 you owe

Until we accept that we need to house addicts before they are sober, homeless trespassing, squatting, camping, etc, is never going to go away. Shelter and a means to bathe is the most basic of human rights.

@12 no one argues that. What is a point of contention is allowing them to continue their self destructive behavior and terrorizing the community until they magically decide to want treatment. If you expect the public to support you there are going to be strings attached and if you want to victimize others you are going somewhere that is not voluntary.

@12, @13: Seattle had a Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness. It collapsed into a Homelessness Crisis. Multiple outside audits determined Seattle had developed a pastiche of homeless service providers who worked at cross-purposes, and without accountability. The reports recommended focusing on results, and denying funds to underperforming providers. Few, if any, of these recommendations have been fully implemented. Meanwhile, civic dialog in Seattle has never focused upon the reality @12 succinctly described: addiction either makes persons homeless, keeps them homeless, or both. Homeless persons in Seattle now perish of overdoses in record numbers, and still the Stranger will not admit addiction plays any role in homelessness. Sadly, Seattle may have reached a ‘natural’ solution to most of its homelessness problem, literally allowing the homeless to die for the lack of recognizing the reality of homelessness. Without starting down the path @13 describes, improvement seems impossible, and the deaths will continue.

Doubling down on things that do not work is a human problem plagued by pride and ego. The progressives are showing us every day that the movement hasn't progressed beyond our human foibles. I used to be a "progressive" but I had to bail when "progress" became less important than the self importance of the activists. Progressives are repulsing more people than they are attracting, I have no doubt. I was hoping for a sustained effort to reform our policing system with contingency plans to keep people safe while we transition. What we got was a thoughtless **it show. Progressives seem to ignore how neighborhoods with people of color are even less safe now due to that and the drop in support from these groups for democratic candidates. I also find it rich that the current protests center around two foreign countries while people in our country keep shooting each other every day. It feels like we are just turds arguing with each other as we are flushed down the toilet.