Seattle City Council considers bill that would prioritize ‘warm handoff’ diversion in drug use enforcement

The Seattle City Council is slated to handle two pieces of legislation Tuesday related to the changing nature of the role of the Seattle Police Department in the city.

• Drug ordinance diversion: In Tuesday morning’s public safety committee session, council members will consider a proposed ordinance that would establish in-field, pre-booking diversion via a direct “warm handoff” to recovery service providers as the city’s preferred approach for enforcing public drug use and possession crimes. The change would follow updates to state law in 2023 reclassifying drug possession and public use as gross misdemeanors and Seattle’s enforcement changes. CHS reported previously on the increase in arrests under the changes but a drop in diversion to addiction and recovery programs. The bill from committee chair Bob Kettle under consideration Tuesday would establish in-field, pre-booking diversion using the City’s LEAD framework as the preferred enforcement method, require SPD operational policies to reflect that preference, and require the department to maintain referral, and outcome data.
• SPD Forensic Digital Evidence bill: Tuesday afternoon, the full council is set to vote on a change that would establish the Forensic Digital Evidence job classification at SPD and a corresponding salary range that recognizes the technical skillset required in the role. Championed by the Seattle Department of Human Resources, the legislation addresses a gap in the city’s compensation program. The specialized duties of SPD’s video and photographic personnel have evolved significantly and existing job titles no longer accurately capture their technical requirements. The new Forensic Digital Evidence classification would establish technical roles to handle, process, and preserve the massive volume of digital media generated by SPD’s modern investigative operations. This team provides the back-end forensic work to turn raw video and digital data such as that captured by systems like a Real Time Crime Center into court-admissible evidence. The legislation would establish a four-tier classification structure with rates starting at $50.20 for an analyst up to $65.52 / hour for a supervisor. The changes will result in approximately $121,000 in additional annual salary and benefits.

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