Crime rates in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

grew rapidly to large levels from 1960 to 1980, however slowed in growth from 1980 onward. Although the cause of this drop in crime growth from the 1980s cannot be directly determined, it was believed to have been a result from several

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

initiatives & policies implemented throughout the state of Washington and across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, such as abortion access. In 2013, the state of Washington was ranked 30th for the states with the highest level of violent crime levels across the United States. In 2016, the city of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

reported the highest level of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objecti ...

across all cities in the state of Washington. The city of Tacoma was the next city with the highest level of violent crime. In response to crime throughout Washington, several programs, strategies,

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

and

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

have been implemented to reduce the levels of crime as well as prevent crime from occurring. __TOC__

History of Crime

The following table displays the number of crimes for different categories in every decade from 1960 to 2010.

Notable crimes

* May 24, 1935: The

George Weyerhaeuser kidnapping The kidnapping of nine-year-old George Weyerhaeuser occurred in 1935 in Tacoma, Washington, United States. The son of prominent lumberman J. P. Weyerhaeuser, George was successfully released for ransom and eventually succeeded his father as the ...

: 9 year old George Weyerhaeuser was kidnapped off the street in daytime in the city of Tacoma, Washington. A

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''re ...

of US$200,000 (approx. US$3,742,905 today) was demanded and paid in June of that year to secure the release of Weyerhaeuser from his captors. *February 18, 1961: The Peoples National Bank burglary: The safe deposit vault of the Peoples National Bank was broken into by Wells Benner van Steenbergh, Jr, who had proceeded to steal US$45,689.53 (approx. US$391,782.37 today). His motive was to provide for his family as he felt "they deserved more than they were getting from me." * November 24, 1971: D. B. Cooper: An unidentified man using the alias Dan Cooper, hijacked a Boeing 727 Aircraft in the airspace between Seattle, Washington and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. He had a bomb in his briefcase and demanded a ransom of US$200,000 (approx. US$1,266,118.52 today), 4 parachutes and a fuel truck to refuel the flight once it had landed to deliver to ransom. Once the passengers on board were released and the flight had taken off, he escaped by parachuting out of the plane sometime at night. The case remains unsolved to this day and stands as one of the few cases of

aircraft hijacking Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the unlawfu ...

to be unsolved in the history of

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ...

* 1973–1978: Serial murders by

Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy (Name change, born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more th ...

: An American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who was convicted of 30 murders which took place between 1973 and 1978. He started his crimes in the state of Washington and committed a total of 11 murders there. Through a series of arrests, incarcerations and escapes from prison since 1975, Bundy was arrested for the last time on 1978 and sentenced to death for the third time. He was executed by way of electrocution on January 24, 1989. *February 18, 1983:

Wah Mee Massacre The Wah Mee massacre () was a mass shooting that occurred during the night of February 18–19, 1983, in which Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak, Wai Chiu "Tony" Ng, and Keung Kin "Benjamin" Ng (no relation) bound, robbed, and shot fourteen people in the Wa ...

: A robbery and shooting of 13 people in the gambling club Wah Mee in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. The motive of the criminals was to rob the club for money and kill any witnesses. There was only one survivor who later provided the evidence and testimony that was used to convict the criminals. *1980s-1990s: Serial murders by Gary Ridgway: An American serial killer who was convicted of 49 out of the 71 murders he confessed to. The majority of these murders were during the 1980s where the bodies of the victims were dumped at locations around Washington, notably at the Green River and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Caphillmassacre-weapons

* July 7, 1993: Murder of

Mia Zapata Mia Katherine Zapata (August 25, 1965 – July 7, 1993) was an American musician who was the lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits. After gaining praise in the emerging grunge scene, Zapata was murdered in 1993 while on her way home fr ...

: 27-year-old Mia Zapata was an American musician who was murdered on her way back from a bar in Seattle, Washington. Her body had been discovered shortly after with evidence of her being beaten and assaulted, however the killer could not be determined. The case remained unsolved for almost 10 years until the killer, Jesus Mezquia, was arrested and charged with the murder based on DNA evidence from crimes he committed in 2002, which ultimately connected him to the murder. He was sentenced to 36 years prison in January 2003. *25 March 2006:

Capitol Hill Massacre The Capitol Hill massacre was a mass murder committed by 28-year-old Kyle Aaron Huff in the southeast part of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. On the morning of March 25, 2006, Huff entered a rave after-party and opened fire, killing six ...

: 28-year-old Kyle Huff shot and killed 6 people while injuring 2 at an after-party in the

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

area of Seattle. The perpetrator committed suicide soon after at the scene. It was the largest

mass-murder Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

in Seattle since the Wah Mee Massacre in 1983. * May 30, 2012: The Seattle cafe shooting spree: 51-year-old Ian Lee Stawicki went on a killing spree starting from Café Racer in the University District of Seattle to

Town Hall Seattle Town Hall Seattle, or Town Hall locally, is a cultural center and performance hall located on Seattle, Washington, USA's First Hill at 1119 8th Ave. Built as Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, a Church of Christ, Scientist The Chur ...

, resulting in the deaths of 5 and the injury of 1. As police were searching his last known position, a detective had located Stawicki on a street. When police began to close in on Stawicki, he committed suicide by way of a gunshot to his head with his firearm. *

Trends in Crime

1960 to 1980

The total number of

s that occurred from the beginning of 1960 rose 470% from 1,616 to 8,243 cases towards the end of the decade. The majority of total crimes committed were classified as property crime, with a total figure of 62,072 in 1960. This increased to 149,468 cases at the end of the decade which was the only category with the highest increase in cases. Crimes of murder also rose in cases by 765 throughout the 1960s. The 1970s had an increase in murder cases by 1,469 throughout the decade, a more than 50% increase compared to cases recorded throughout the 60s. Although murder cases in the 70s were the lowest of crimes reported under violent crimes, they had the highest amount of reported arrests per reported crimes averaging 19.82%. Violent crimes further rose to 19,098 cases as well as property crimes rising to 289,235 cases by the end of the 1970s. Throughout this time period, although no direct cause could be determined, it was believed that part of the continuing increases in crime was widely due to soft policies towards

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

release of criminals, poor treatment of prisoners and weak rehabilitation programs which all led to re-offending.

1980 to 2000

Despite the increase in population, increases in crime levels plummeted in most categories for the first time in 30 years since 1960. Property crime had declined, growing only by 13,302 cases by the end of the 1980s compared to the beginning of the decade. There were also notable drops in the number of murders, with only an increase to 238 cases by the end of the 1980s. While there is no determinate cause to this significant drop in crime, it was widely believed that new and harsh law enforcement initiatives led to the decrease in crime across both Washington state and the United States. Violent crime grew by 28% throughout the 80s to 24,410 cases by the end of 1990. This growth rate later dropped by 11% with the total number of cases of violent crime standing at 21,788 at the end of 2000. This reduction in violent crime was believed to originate from the introduction of new

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

laws and laws allowing

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...

, however the lack of evidence towards these claims dismissed the belief. Additionally, there was also data to suggest that the increase in taxpayer costs contributed to decreasing crime rates through funding towards the

criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

in Washington.

Responses to Crime

Aged-based Programs

These are programs aimed at specific age ranges with the overall purpose to prevent & reduce the risk of crimes and criminals occurring.

Early Childhood Programs

Aimed at children before they are admitted to kindergarten. * Nurse Home Visitation Program: This involves

nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

visiting homes during a woman's pregnancy and up to 2 years after the child is born with the goal of aiding the child's development and providing support & parent training to parents. The purpose of this program is to assist low-income, at-risk pregnant women who are bearing their first child. Participants pay to enter the program, whose benefit is determined by the reduction in taxpayer costs, where part of that benefit is further used to fund the incarceration costs of criminals in prison through income taxation. Despite initial years of negative returns, over time this margin of loss has diminished, generating monetary benefit for a taxpayer through less spending on law enforcement and prison housing funding as a result of less crime & criminals. * Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Youth: This involves the provision of

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

and

childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

services, including education. This is intended to support low-income families or parents with children of ages 3 or 4 to prevent them from committing crimes in the future.

Middle Childhood & Adolescent Programs

Aimed at children enlisted from Grade 1 of the US Schooling System to those under 18 and not classified as a juvenile offender. * The Seattle Social Development Project: This program is aimed at students from Grade 1 to Grade 6 with the goal of training teachers to better control and manage classrooms, as well as to promote a student's bond with the school & family. The purpose of this program is to prevent multiple factors from occurring that are believed to contribute to a crime being committed such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, violence and delinquency among other factors. In the initial run of the program, it was concluded that various levels of student participation and intervention led to various results, with full intervention reporting more family & school commitment and bond level.

Strategies

These are devised and funded by various state, federal and local agencies in Washington state which are later put into implementation by

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

makers. * Multi-Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Forces: These are law enforcement task forces whose purpose is to conduct investigation, arrest and prosecute drug traffickers with medium to high levels of experience. Some results from the operation of these task forces include: Millions of US dollars worth of drugs & assets in large quantities seized and removed from the streets, detailed information on the drug network in Washington as well as high levels of participation and commitment from agencies & personnel that are a part of these task forces. *

Drug Courts Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that provide a sentencing alternative of treatment combined with supervision for people living with serious substance use. Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health appro ...

: These are responsible for providing supervised drug treatment for criminals deemed non-violent as an alternative to serving time in prison. There are different courts specific to dealing with different factors pertaining to the criminal such as age, mental health and category of drug use. * Criminal History Records project: Creation of a database to report and compile various records for criminals, specifically to track their criminal history. * Tribal Law Enforcement Assistance: Responsible for funding projects that assist local tribal law enforcement agencies in improving the community through various strategies such as the training of officers and sheriffs, community policing and prevention of drug use & violence.

Capital punishment laws

As of October 11, 2018,

Capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

was no longer applied in this state.