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Crime in Washington (state)

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Washington
Crime rates* (2018)
Violent crimes
Rape45.3
Robbery73.9
Aggravated assault189.1
Total violent crime311.5
Property crimes
Burglary533.5
Larceny-theft2045.4
Motor vehicle theft367.3
Total property crime2946.2
Notes

*Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.


Source: FBI UCS Annual Crime Reports 2018

Crime rates in the state of Washington grew rapidly to large levels from 1960 to 1980, however slowed in growth from 1980 onward.[1] 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 initiatives & policies implemented throughout the state of Washington and across the United States, such as abortion access.[2][3]

In 2013, the state of Washington was ranked 30th for the states with the highest level of violent crime levels across the United States.[4] In 2016, the city of Seattle reported the highest level of violent crime across all cities in the state of Washington. The city of Tacoma was the next city with the highest level of violent crime.[5]

In response to crime throughout Washington, several programs, strategies, Legislature and Acts have been implemented to reduce the levels of crime as well as prevent crime from occurring.[6]

History of Crime

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

Number of crimes in Washington from 1960 to 2010 (Every decade)[1]
Year Population Violent Property
Violent Forcible Rape Murder Aggravated Assault Property Burglary Larceny-Theft Vehicle Theft
1960 2,853,214 1,616 166 61 503 62,072 13,098 43,657 4,507
1970 3,409,169 7,546 613 120 3,624 158,858 49,244 97,279 12,335
1980 4,113,331 19,098 2,169 225 11,146 265,338 76,598 172,468 16,272
1990 4,866,692 24,410 3,115 238 14,731 278,440 61,460 195,221 21,759
2000 5,894,121 21,788 2,737 196 13,043 279,144 53,476 190,650 35,018
2010 6,742,950 21,138 2,579 154 12,476 249,426 55,192 168,490 25,744

Notable crimes

[edit]
FBI composite sketch of the man known as D.B. Cooper.
  • May 24, 1935: The George Weyerhaeuser kidnapping. 9 year old George Weyerhaeuser was kidnapped off the street in daytime in the city of Tacoma, Washington. A ransom 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.[7]
  • 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."[8]
  • 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.[9] 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.[10][11] Once the passengers on board were released and the flight had taken off, he escaped by parachuting out of the plane sometime at night.[12] The case remains unsolved to this day and stands as one of the few cases of aircraft hijacking to be unsolved in the history of commercial aviation.[10][13]
Serial killer Ted Bundy in court.
  • 1973–1978: Serial murders by Ted Bundy. An American serial killer 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.[14] Through a series of arrests, incarcerations and escapes from prison since 1975,[15] Bundy was arrested for the last time on 1978 and sentenced to death for the third time.[16] He was executed by way of electrocution on January 24, 1989.[16]
  • February 18, 1983: Wah Mee Massacre. A robbery and shooting of 13 people in the gambling club Wah Mee in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle.[17] The motive of the criminals was to rob the club for money and kill any witnesses.[18] There was only one survivor who later provided the evidence and testimony that was used to convict the criminals.[18]
  • 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.[citation needed]
Kyle Huff's weapons & ammunition used in the Capitol Hill Massacre.
  • July 7, 1993: Murder of Mia Zapata. 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.[19] 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.[19][20] He was sentenced to 36 years prison in January 2003.[21]
  • 25 March 2006: Capitol Hill Massacre. 28-year-old Kyle Huff shot and killed 6 people while injuring 2 at an after-party in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle. The perpetrator committed suicide soon after at the scene.[22] It was the largest mass-murder in Seattle since the Wah Mee Massacre in 1983.[23]
  • 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, resulting in the deaths of 5 and the injury of 1.[24] 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.[24][25]
  • June 13, 2023: Killing of Eina Kwon. Kwon and her husband, two restaurateurs, were sitting in their car in Belltown when Cordell Maurice Goosby fired six shots from a stolen automatic handgun into their car, seemingly at random. Kwon was eight months pregnant at the time; both her and her child died. Kwon's husband was shot in the arm but recovered.[26][27][28]
  • October 21, 2024: Fall City murders. Two parents and three of their children were shot to death at their home near Fall City in King County. Another child in the family was injured, but survived the attack. The suspect is the eldest child in the family, who allegedly staged the crime scene to look like a murder-suicide committed by his younger brother.[29]
[edit]

1960 to 1980

[edit]

The total number of violent crimes that occurred from the beginning of 1960 rose 470% from 1,616 to 8,243 cases towards the end of the decade.[1] 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.[1] Crimes of murder also rose in cases by 765 throughout the 1960s.[1] 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%.[30] Violent crimes further rose to 19,098 cases as well as property crimes rising to 289,235 cases by the end of the 1970s.[1] 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 release of criminals, poor treatment of prisoners and weak rehabilitation programs which all led to re-offending.[3]

1980 to 2000

[edit]

Despite the increase in population, increases in crime levels plummeted in most categories for the first time in 30 years since 1960.[1] Property crime had declined, growing only by 13,302 cases by the end of the 1980s compared to the beginning of the decade.[1] There were also notable drops in the number of murders, with only an increase to 238 cases by the end of the 1980s.[1] 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.[2][3] 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.[1] This reduction in violent crime was believed to originate from the introduction of new gun control laws and laws allowing concealed carry, however the lack of evidence towards these claims dismissed the belief.[2] 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 in Washington.[31]

Responses to Crime

[edit]

Aged-based Programs

[edit]

These are programs aimed at specific age ranges with the overall purpose to prevent & reduce the risk of crimes and criminals occurring.[32]

Early Childhood Programs

[edit]

Aimed at children before they are admitted to kindergarten.[33]

  • Nurse Home Visitation Program: This involves nurses 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.[32] The purpose of this program is to assist low-income, at-risk pregnant women who are bearing their first child.[32] Participants pay to enter the program, whose benefit is determined by the reduction in taxpayer costs,[32] where part of that benefit is further used to fund the incarceration costs of criminals in prison through income taxation.[34] 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.[35]
  • Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Youth: This involves the provision of preschool and childcare services, including education.[32] 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.[33]

Middle Childhood & Adolescent Programs

[edit]

Aimed at children enlisted from Grade 1 of the US Schooling System to those under 18 and not classified as a juvenile offender.[32]

  • 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.[36] 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.[37][38] 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.[37]

Strategies

[edit]
Washington State Patrol's Crown Victoria Car. These cars were part of a new fleet of patrol cars to be used state-wide from 2012.[39]

These are devised and funded by various state, federal and local agencies in Washington state which are later put into implementation by policymakers.[40][6]

  • 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.[41] 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.[41]
  • Drug Courts: 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.[42]
  • Criminal History Records project: Creation of a database to report and compile various records for criminals, specifically to track their criminal history.[43]
  • 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.[6]

Capital punishment laws

[edit]
Main article: Capital punishment in Washington state

As of October 11, 2018, Capital punishment was no longer applied in this state.[44]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Washington Crime Rates 1960 - 2018". DisasterCenter. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2018. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  2. ^ a b c Levitt, Stephen (Winter 2004). "Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors that Explain the Decline and Six that Do Not". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 18: 173–175. doi:10.1257/089533004773563485.
  3. ^ a b c Zimring, Franklin (2007). The Great American Crime Decline. Oxford University Press. pp. 28, 35.
  4. ^ "Rate and Rank of Crimes in the United States 1960 to 2013". DisasterCenter. 2013. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  5. ^ "WASHINGTON, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by City, 2016". Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2016. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  6. ^ a b c Sandoz, Joli; Owens, Carol; Ousley, Nancy; Perz, Paul (2004). "Criminal Justice in Washington State" (PDF). Washington State Department of Commerce. p. xiii, xv. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  7. ^ McClary, Daryl C. (2006-03-27). "Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping". History Link. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  8. ^ "Man Who Dug Tunnel Under Bank Vault Gets 20 Years". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. 1961-04-06. p. 11.
  9. ^ Grossweiler, Ed (1971-11-26). "Hijacker bails out with loot". The Free Lance-Star. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  10. ^ a b Gray, Geoffrey (2007-10-18). "Unmasking D.B. Cooper". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  11. ^ Gadena, Didier (2018-05-14). "The Phantom of the Sky: The Mysterious Disappearance of D.B. Cooper". STMU History Data. Archived from the original on 2018-05-19. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  12. ^ P. Himmmelsbach, Ralph; K. Worcester, Thomas (1986). Norjack: The Investigation of D.B. Cooper. Norjack Project. p. 48. ISBN 9780961741501.
  13. ^ Pasternak, Douglas (2000-07-24). "Skyjacker at large". U.S. News & World Report. 129 (4): 72–73. ISSN 0041-5537.
  14. ^ Michaud, Stephen; Aynesworth, Hugh (1999). The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy. Authorlink Press. p. 339. ISBN 1-928704-11-5.
  15. ^ Gowen, Gwen; Deutsch, Gail; Valiente, Alexa (2019-02-14). "How notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was able to escape from custody not just once, but twice". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  16. ^ a b Rush Burkey, Chris; ten Bensel, Tusty; T. Walker, Jeffery (2014). Forensic Investigation of Sex Crimes and Sexual Offenders. Elsevier. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-323-22804-6.
  17. ^ Crowley, Matt; Matthews, Todd (2001-02-15). "Three robbers raid Wah Mee gambling club in the International District and kill 13 patrons on February 18, 1983". History Link. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  18. ^ a b Finn, Terry (1983-09-22). "The sole survivor of the Chinatown massacre testified Thursday". United Press International. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  19. ^ a b Chiu, David (2018-07-09). "Mia Zapata: Punk Musician Murdered in 1993, Changing Seattle Grunge Scene". Rollingstone. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  20. ^ Jenniges, Amy (2003-01-16). "Finally, DNA Evidence Leads to Arrest of Mia Zapata's Suspected Murder". The Stranger. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  21. ^ Breihan, Tom (2009-02-02). "Mia Zapata's Killer Sentenced for Good, Finally". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  22. ^ Alan Fox, James; W. Burgess, Ann; Levin, Jack; Wong, Marleen; G. Burgess, Allen (2007). "Capital Hill Mass Murder Case" (PDF). Northeastern University. Oxford University Press. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  23. ^ Stein, Alan J. (2007-12-04). "Kyle Huff shoots and kills six people at a rave afterparty in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood on March 25, 2006". History Link. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  24. ^ a b Vojtech, Jim; Newcomb, Alyssa; S. James, Michael (2012-05-31). "Seattle Cafe Shooter Kills 5, and Himself After Citywide Manhunt". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  25. ^ "Seattle Shootings suspect shoots himself, police say". CNN. 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  26. ^ "시애틀한인 권이나씨 일면식없는 용의자 대낮 무차별 난사에 희생 > 시애틀 뉴스/핫이슈". www.seattlen.com. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  27. ^ Asher, Abe (2023-06-16). "Pregnant woman shot and killed while stopped at intersection in Seattle". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  28. ^ Green, Sara Jean (2023-06-16). "Man charged with murder in Belltown shooting of pregnant restaurant owner". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  29. ^ Ebrahimji, Alisha (October 25, 2024). "An 11-year-old girl played dead before escaping after 5 family members were killed at their Washington state home". CNN. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  30. ^ Taller, Joe (August 1983). "History of Crimes and Arrests: State of Washington 1971 to 1982" (PDF). Bureau of Justice Statistics. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  31. ^ Aos, Stephen (2011-01-21). "Crime Trends, Good News, What Works, and Analyzing Options". Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Archived from the original on 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  32. ^ a b c d e f Aos, Steve; Phipps, Polly; Barnoski, Robert; Lieb, Roxanne (2001). "The Comparative Costs and Benefits of Programs to Reduce Crime" (PDF). Washington State Institute for Public Policy. pp. 13–16. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  33. ^ a b "Prison, Police, and Programs: Evidence-Based Options that Reduce Crime and Save Money" (PDF). Washington State Institute for Public Policy. 2013. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  34. ^ "The Criminal Justice System In Washington State: Incarceration Rates, Taxpayer Costs, Crime Rates, And Prison Economics" (PDF). Washington State Institute for Public Policy. January 2003. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  35. ^ "Return on Investment: Evidence-Based Options to Improve Statewide Outcomes" (PDF). Washington State Institute for Public Policy. 2012. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  36. ^ Hawkins, J. David (2019). "The Seattle Social Development Project: An Implementation of the Raising Healthy Children Intervention (SSDP)". ClinicalTrials. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  37. ^ a b Hawkins, J. David; Catalano, Richard. "Seattle Social Development Project". Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  38. ^ "Seattle Social Development Project". Washington State Institute for Public Policy. 2012. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  39. ^ Champaco, Brent (2012-07-16). "Washington State Patrol's Crown Victoria Cars Will Be Things Of The Past". Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  40. ^ "Byrne JAG: Funding State and Local Criminal Justice Programs". National Criminal Justice Association. 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  41. ^ a b M. Moran, Patrick; VanSchoorl, Meg (1992). "Washington State Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Task Force Program" (PDF). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. U.S. Department of Justice. p. vii. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  42. ^ "Drug Courts & Other Therapeutic Courts". Washington Courts. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  43. ^ "Washington State Criminal History Records Audit For Adult Felonies: Introducing The Study Series" (PDF). Washington State Institution for Public Policy. 2006. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  44. ^ "Capital Punishment". Department of Corrections, Washington State. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
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