[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6159513,"mediaKeyId","5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7","parentId",5454561,"title","King County prosecutor: felony referrals down; gun-violence indicators improving but juvenile shootings a concern","audioSeconds",3137,"startMs",897000,"endMs",4034000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7&start=897&end=4034","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7/thumbnail_897000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6159513/Seattle/King-County/Washington/King-County-prosecutor-felony-referrals-down-gun-violence-indicators-improving-but-juvenile-shootings-a-concern","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6159513-3558bd3aad63d50a5e2eb55e400d7ca4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771076216&Signature=DzUbGhEqqaq31iKSYE7nACrY5ctJ9MPZL7wP6JzeQi~NCkxWXWN0j7FGZ7vBhnSFbRm55AcCcG75kYen3Y3IwO9UyazdI0FdB4JaRMgNjbu5CGYZlcD3USqW5Us4nx9J8YHRg5e01PmNzWrB~A4T4YfK3YQsmrIBoavQe-DA0Cq7T0ErEGOWJpISi7v-CZ2PvY60f9G6BtlHo2bU8Hsy5FDurS7wEyJkJyjYtMFOMQRQjvv2fz9dB05Fsv91--TjTRoP3a53nL5D-cRBfaP9~VfDeVZ8QbFqSyLCkcKoE7K4~8jDA5MhUinhJf8BdNXv~o25n5GyNU9CA8sPO-BXPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Seattle City, WA","date","2025-07-23T19:16:22.313Z","article","King County Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Manion told the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee on July 22 that “the overarching trends are encouraging. Overall, felony crime is decreasing in Seattle,” while stressing that the county is not declaring victory and more work remains.

Manion said adult felony referrals in Seattle fell 36.7% from 2019 to 2024 — from 3,925 referrals in 2019 to 2,485 in 2024 — and she reported a 25.3% drop in adult felony referrals across King County over the same period. She said first-quarter 2025 data show significant year-over-year decreases in gun violence across the county: a 35% drop in fatal shooting victims, a 36% drop in nonfatal shooting victims and a 32% drop in total shots-fired incidents compared with the same quarter in 2024.

Why it matters: The county’s prosecuting office said the declines reflect coordinated work with municipal prosecutors, police and community partners, and that the trends provide “a glimmer of hope” but not a full recovery. Manion emphasized partnerships across jurisdictions and investments in both enforcement and prevention.

Manion described several operational and policy priorities. She said King County has strengthened efforts to solve nonfatal shootings, expanded work to identify people “close to gun violence” for prevention and wraparound services (a pilot in Kent was cited as an example), and assigned a deputy prosecutor to coordinate gun-violence policy and case referrals. She also said the office has focused on victims’ services and that funding dedicated to crime victims has decreased substantially: “These funds have decreased by 90% since 2017,” she said while describing unsuccessful 2025 testimony in support of two bills to stabilize statewide funding (identified in the briefing as Senate Bill 5362 and House Bill 1487).

Manion said the office secured a statutory change to the state hate-crime law to close a “loophole” and make motivation-based prosecutions clearer for juries, and that her office launched a statewide listening tour focused on involuntary treatment and mental-health interventions. She said the office also is piloting juvenile extreme risk protection orders — a civil tool intended to remove firearm access from juveniles in appropriate cases — and a Safer Schools initiative that coordinates prosecutors with school officials to plan safe returns for students who intersect with the juvenile legal system.

On juvenile crime, Manion said overall juvenile filings have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels and that so far in 2025 the office has filed about 500 juvenile cases. She warned that the proportion of young people whose first contact with the legal system involves a serious violent crime has increased and told councilmembers the office is looking for prevention and early-intervention partners.

Councilmembers asked where unreported crime fits into these trends; Manion said the office tracks law-enforcement referrals and cannot directly measure unreported crime. Multiple councilmembers also pressed for more detail on how technology (license-plate readers, CCTV, a real-time crime center) and additional police hires are affecting solvability; Manion said video and other digital evidence often help deputies and prosecutors analyze crime scenes “frame by frame” and support filings.

Manion repeatedly framed the trends as the product of cross-jurisdictional coordination: “It is important to trade notes on addressing root causes,” she told the committee, describing partnerships with municipal prosecutors, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office and police departments across King County.

The office cited changes in case volumes across categories (adult burglaries, serious assaults, domestic-violence referrals and vehicle-theft referrals) and repeated that the pandemic years (2020–2022) were peak years for many referral types. Manion urged continued investment in victims’ services and mental-health supports and said she will continue to pursue legislative changes in Olympia.

Manion closed by asking for sustained partnership with the city and said the county will continue regularly pushing data to the public and to elected officials: the prosecuting office publishes a public-facing dashboard and monthly reports on gun-violence filings and precinct-level incidents, she said.

Looking ahead: Manion said her office will continue the Safer Schools pilot, the juvenile ERPO pilot, the statewide ITA listening tour and legislative advocacy to restore victims’ funding. She asked city leaders to help press for both resources and policy changes at the state level where necessary.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Public Safety Committee Meeting 7/22/2025","oneSentenceSummary","King County Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Manion told the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee on July 22 that “the overarching trends are encouraging. Overall, felony crime is decreasing in Seattle,” but she warned juvenile gun violence and victims’ funding remain urgent issues.","taxTitle","Seattle, King County, Washington","taxId",2543,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6159501,"King County jail health officials explain prebooking medical deferrals, discharge planning and substance-use supports",943,5986000,6929000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7&start=5986&end=6929","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7/thumbnail_5986000.jpg","/articles/6159501/Seattle/King-County/Washington/King-County-jail-health-officials-explain-prebooking-medical-deferrals-discharge-planning-and-substance-use-supports","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6159501-cabee44eb6dd579980160c146024a546/orig.mp4?Expires=1771076216&Signature=SqMhmDY2PQBCqbcTyGvj6Up4lS8ebPJvksZlfHu-tV1i~rNn-XV8BT98OArQiWOpL8R2i-FlWazbHwQTzHVgl~aFocdkSqZ7n-9RO0eHWU8~qdpBT~VvwbRkW1rXMW0-AMMoI5X0y6~xyiE20kuutFEh~PAHm2h5qt8fC4SMDk7723KuJ54Lb7PFxGdCNtF5Df8ezjl5ccvHyAa-H3uLyqMSGyqkdoM87bmklmF4AqPLsObYMu07H7eYNbqRwjV7KDaluTSyFibt28GKd~Xzi-9qzUkTbJ~SNsseZsO8yRAQn6316-QpmIV4u7WCf9i3fJKsaq~GIDHBLSrFvCEEeQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","King County Jail Health Services officials told the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee on July 22 that clinical staff perform prebooking assessments to identify detainees who need hospital care before booking and that the process aims to protect patient safety while preserving jail capacity.

“Receiving screening requires that we do some level of assessment in booking or an intake prior to someone being brought into the jail,” said Dr. Heather Flynn, the jail health assistant medical director, describing the clinical standard that triggers nurse assessments. Division director Denodra McBride said the receiving officer performs an initial screening and that registered nurses then perform focused clinical assessments in the prebook area when an arresting officer flags concerns.

Why it matters: The prebook process is intended to identify immediate medical needs and avoid medical emergencies inside detention facilities. Jail Health Services cited accreditation and standards — the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and PREA standards — as the framework for the process and said intake assessments are performed by their most experienced nurses.

Staff said historical analysis of 2021–22 bookings found a deferral rate of about 6–7% — roughly three deferrals per day on average — and that a later snapshot from May 2025 showed a week with a 7.5% deferral rate (about four hospital referrals per day from 61 bookings). Nurse assessments averaged about 21 prebook evaluations per day in the May snapshot; for every five people assessed, roughly one was deferred for hospital evaluation.

Common reasons for referral included recent bodily injury, infection, possible recent sexual assault (these individuals are referred for forensic exam capacity through Harborview Medical Center), and suspected drug ingestion or withdrawal risk that required hospital monitoring, staff said. Dr. Flynn said the jail refers potential sexual-assault victims “to the emergency room and that is for the purpose of being offered a sexual-assault nurse examination to receive timely post assault care.” She added that individuals assessed as at risk after ingesting drugs are referred “for monitoring and medical clearance.”

Jail Health Services staff described discharge planning and transitional supports. McBride said early release planning and community-health-worker coordination are part of the intake-through-release flow: the division provides bridge medications for people with substance-use disorder and connects detainees to community providers and diversion programs in an effort to reduce returns to custody.

Committee members asked how cities and the county can partner; officials requested more resources for jail-based health care, continued coordination with Harborview and arresting agencies, and expanded capacity for post-release treatment. Jail Health Services said it will continue to refine tracking after implementing a new prebook medical-clearance form earlier in 2025 to enable better monitoring of referrals.

","Jail Health Services staff told the Seattle committee how nurses screen detainees before booking, described a typical 6–8% deferral rate to hospitals for urgent care, and outlined discharge planning and bridge medications for people leaving custody.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6159506,"Presiding judge: Superior Court backlog down from pandemic peak but homicides and juror safety remain challenges",1928,4038000,5966000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7&start=4038&end=5966","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5454561-e5efdea469288eb09ea07b748ff9c8a7/thumbnail_4038000.jpg","/articles/6159506/Seattle/King-County/Washington/Presiding-judge-Superior-Court-backlog-down-from-pandemic-peak-but-homicides-and-juror-safety-remain-challenges","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6159506-5d82abf5f918be0eeb788495814e192a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771076216&Signature=oLQUY-1l7vkqCEEto1f0~Juh3u3otaEzKNjJRQ2wTdDMXwZrJVRPrZaUCG16EQf983TU~gmYY7xiioTJKhBn9Hm3~RIMJKG4jl1Awdvy2Pdc0fsQtobkdtG2TG-NkIujm7jUsk5fzFHC1mg~Wjn1v7rTLZL2bzBXY2eB-qj-tpiMncm5WzLRRKIFKciWBLCMaJ6eNtxlryee3eC1BOX0FMdvkP11ia~C~AR7d8-~lbTnyCgQdiE45D-tehg63JHaaH3zqi-KvoZC-HL3~WpV-Cb2YaSa2ydgawQghaLz5hA6aDH8KaXOit201LQxmAiy1kWVo2~n5lHAD4xtk1p78Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","King County Presiding Judge Ketu Shaw told the Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee on July 22 that the Superior Court’s work remains broad and that access and safety around the courthouse are central to the court’s ability to function.

Shaw said the court filed nearly 60,000 cases last year and that civil matters — family law and guardianships — make up roughly 70% of its workload. She noted a pandemic-era spike in pending criminal cases in 2020–21 and said the backlog has been reduced but that criminal caseloads remain above pre-pandemic levels: pending criminal cases are about 10% higher than in 2019. She reported the number of pending homicide cases has roughly doubled since before the pandemic, with “over 200 homicide cases pending” as of early 2025, compared with about 100 pending before the pandemic.

Why it matters: Shaw framed courts as a cornerstone of civil society and said public access — including jurors willing to come in to serve — is essential. She said courthouse safety incidents and threats affect juror recruitment and that coordinated security across city, county and transit agencies is required for reliable access.

Shaw described the court’s physical-security and access activity during and after COVID: the court continued operating (including remote and in-person trials) and now sees about 1,400 people enter the courthouse per day, down from 3,000–4,000 pre-pandemic numbers. She said the court has added protection escorts (about 1,500) to help staff and jurors reach transit stops and parking safely, and that third-party partners such as the sheriff’s office, Seattle Police Department and Metro Transit security coordinate responses near the courthouse.

Shaw told councilmembers that serious criminal cases take time to investigate and try; average homicide cases take about two years to reach trial, she said. She described the court’s interest in early interventions for youth — the court supports continuums of services ranging from truancy interventions through community-based resources and emphasized that state funding cuts have constrained some services.

Councilmembers asked what Seattle and other cities can do to help the Superior Court. Shaw said better coordination among city, county and transit safety partners and clear, verified information about repeat offenders in local districts would help judges evaluate cases and fashion remedies. She cited Judge Leroy McCullough’s long-running youth program in Renton as an example of local prevention work and asked continued rhetorical and policy support for courts as a forum for dispute resolution.

Shaw urged continued investment in courthouse safety and coordination of resources across jurisdictions so jurors, staff and litigants can safely access the campus. She also asked the council to sustain investments that improved safety since 2021; she said the environment near the courthouse has improved but occasional incidents persist.

","Presiding Judge Ketu Shaw told the Seattle Public Safety Committee the King County Superior Court reduced pandemic backlogs but still carries more pending homicide cases than before COVID and that courthouse-area safety affects juror participation and court access.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

King County prosecutor: felony referrals down; gun-violence indicators improving but juvenile shootings a concern

King County jail health officials explain prebooking medical deferrals, discharge planning and substance-use supports

Presiding judge: Superior Court backlog down from pandemic peak but homicides and juror safety remain challenges