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SeaTac Police report drop in property crimes; response times remain fast
Summary
Chief Troy Smithmeier told council crimes against property fell in Q4 2024, auto thefts declined compared with 2023, and the department reported quick response times for high-priority calls.
Hi. Yeah. Good evening, everybody. Thank you, deputy mayor and other council members. Appreciate you giving me a couple minutes to talk about our, fourth quarter stats, Police Chief Troy Smithmeier began.
SeaTac Police reported to the council that crimes against property fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2024 and that auto thefts were down substantially for the year compared with 2023.
Chief Smithmeier said crimes against property — including commercial and residential burglary, fraud, vandalism, larceny and motor-vehicle theft — were down by almost 170 incidents in the quarter. He said total auto thefts for the year declined from 747 in 2023 to 461 in 2024, a drop the department attributes to changes in state case law and renewed ability to book suspect arrests into the county jail.
On crimes against persons, Smithmeier said the city was “pretty consistent” year over year and recorded one homicide in fourth quarter 2024. He said many crimes against persons in the quarter were simple assaults.
Smithmeier also reviewed response metrics: Priority X (highest-priority) calls averaged about 4.1 minutes from dispatch to arrival; Priority 1 calls averaged about 10.4 minutes. On 911 performance he said callers reached a dispatcher under 10 seconds 88.54% of the time (countywide figures), with less than 0.2% of 911 calls waiting more than two minutes.
Other data Smithmeier gave the council: 29 DUI offenses in the quarter, 240 total arrests, 94 mental‑health calls and 84 domestic‑violence calls; the department also logged three verified suicide attempts during the period. The department's embedded mental-health professional (MHP Carr) responded to 67 incidents in the quarter and the community-engagement officer held 26 events.
Council members asked follow-up questions. Council Member Vincent asked whether the countywide call statistics could be broken down to SeaTac-only data; Smithmeier said the communications center does not provide raw 911 intake by originating area code and that SeaTac-specific counts are derived after calls become dispatch calls for service. Council Member Kwan asked whether more arrests while some crime measures fell reflected booking availability at the King County Jail; Smithmeier said improved jail booking and a proactive emphasis-patrol strategy both contributed to higher arrest totals.
Councilors requested additional tracking for future reports — for example, using vehicle-camera and license‑plate systems ("FLOCK" cameras) to measure investigative success and separating initial calls from repeat-offender counts for domestic violence and DUI incidents — and Smithmeier said the department would bring additional data to upcoming public-safety briefings.
