Former police chief weighs in on state of downtowns

State of downtowns: Former police chief calls for mandatory drug treatment, more aggressive policing

What you probably already know: Open-air drug markets and homelessness are two of the most glaring issues plaguing downtowns and slowing their recovery. A record-high 653,104 people experienced homelessness in the U.S. on a single night in January 2023 — more than a 12% increase over the previous year, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. But there’s good news where substance abuse is concerned: Public health data shows a drop in overdose deaths (which are driven by synthetic opioids like fentanyl) in 2024 for the first time in years. Still, the stigma remains, and many are still concerned about their safety when coming downtown.

Why: Politics, population density, law enforcement, and access to treatment or shelters historically influence these complex social concerns. Declines in national drug death rates may be due, in part, to the availability and affordability of medical treatments like naloxone that can reverse the effects of opioids. While fewer people are dying, drug use on the streets is still a prevalent, conspicuous concern in many cities. Former Chief of the Seattle Police Department Carmen Best said that by the end of her tenure in 2020, downtown Seattle was experiencing high numbers of unhoused people, increased drug use, and upticks in gang activity. “People are frustrated, and everybody loses if you don't address it because people aren't getting services,” Best said.

What it means: Encampments and public fentanyl use deter locals and visitors from spending time downtown, which spirals into a myriad of negative impacts on the local economy. Targeted efforts to clean up certain areas often just push the problems elsewhere. Best said Seattle’s current administration has made some inroads and improvements, but overall, downtown still feels less safe than it used to. “Business owners lose out when people are afraid to come downtown or be around (drug users) because they can be very unpredictable in behavior,” Best said. “So they don't get to come down and enjoy themselves. So there's no winner. There's just no winner.”

What happens now: Best believes progress requires a multi-disciplinary approach and a concentrated focus on underlying root causes, which means finding places for those who need mental health or addiction treatment — and making treatment mandatory. She added that education, affordable housing, and a robust police department that can deal with criminals who target at-risk individuals on the streets are also part of the solution, along with fully supported community service providers operating around the clock. “We don't want to lose our downtowns. An economically vital downtown is essential to a great economy for everybody,” said Best. “Even people who don't live downtown will be supported and will be affected by the vitality of the downtown area, so we all have a stake in it to make sure that downtowns thrive and people come in and businesses survive and the tax base is robust, so we can engage in the programming and the infrastructure that's needed to carry us into the next century.”