Is Seattle Crime Out of Control?

Recently Seattle has gotten some bad press. City officials and celebrity news figures have painted the city as a dangerous slum with astronomically high crime rates. Rush Limbaugh even said that the crime and homelessness in Seattle were worse than Los Angeles and New York.

So, is Seattle crime out of control?

Not really, according to the most recent data. Although the last several years have painted Seattle as a lawless city with rising crime, recent studies have shed some interesting light on the subject.

After years of rising crime in the city, it seems like 2019 was better for the Emerald City. According to the Seattle Times, street crime in Seattle actually went down in 2019. The number of robbery cases was down 9 percent, and instances of burglary were down 6 percent. Property crime, in general, was the lowest it has been since 2013. Even better, the property crime rate was the lowest recorded rate in the city since the 1970s. It was a shocking 40 percent lower than it was in 2000.

These numbers are especially impressive considering that Seattle’s population grew by 17,000 residents in 2019. Yet, police report that the number of calls for police assistance dropped by 3 percent that year. Calls about theft dropped an astonishing 20 percent in 2019.

Social Media & Crime

So, why is the public impression of Seattle the opposite? Why are so many people convinced that Seattle is a dangerous and violent city full of crime?

The answer lies in social media. Social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, often spread untruths about the city. These untruths become widely believed as factual, even when data shows that the opposite is true.

Social media can be dangerous and can sway the public's opinion as well as their impressions if they were to serve on a jury. Information people consume on social media can impact their feelings about a business or individual even before they have heard the details of the case.

Although the legal system works diligently to reduce the number of exposure juries get to media during a case, they cannot control the exposure they've gotten before the trial. People are affected by exposure to previous cases, as well as information they've consumed on social media in recent years. These biases can have a significant impact on their decisions as jurors.

If you are arrested and accused of a crime, you may be facing these very jurors, and you'll need a solid and aggressive legal team on your side. Your criminal defense lawyers will need to counteract the biases that already exist in jurors to help ensure that you receive a fair trial. Without a lawyer on your side, you may face harsher penalties and consequences. As such, it is essential to retain legal assistance from the moment you are arrested.

Getting Help From Seattle Criminal Defense Attorneys at Lewis & Laws, PLLC

If you are charged with a crime in Seattle, you need someone on your side looking out for you and your future. Contact an experienced Seattle criminal defense lawyer immediately. Criminal charges could ruin your life and your future. Even the accusations are enough to ruin your reputation in your community and could even cost you your job.

The experienced lawyers at Lewis & Laws, PLLC have successfully defended clients in Seattle, Bellevue, and Kirkland. Contact us today at 206.209.0608 or fill out our online contact form.