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The City of Seattle
Ordinance
Council Bill
title
An ordinance relating to controlled substances; updating City policy for the enforcement of the crimes of knowing possession and use of controlled substances; amending Section 3.28.141 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and repealing Section 4 of Ordinance 126896.
body
Recitals:
In May 2023, the Washington State Legislature passed 2E2SSB 5536 (enacted as Chapter 1, Laws of 2023), which reclassified the knowing possession of a controlled substance, and the knowing use of a controlled substance in a public place, as gross misdemeanors.
2E2SSB 5536 encouraged law enforcement officers to offer any individual arrested for simple possession and/or use access to assessment, treatment, or other services, such as arrest and jail alternatives and law enforcement assisted diversion programs, in lieu of booking the individual in jail and referring the case for prosecution.
In August 2023, the City Council adopted Ordinance 126896, which incorporated into the Seattle Municipal Code the state's reclassification of public use and possession crimes, and specified that diversion, treatment, and other alternatives to booking are the preferred approach when enforcing those crimes.
Between 2024 and 2025, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) increased arrests for drug use and possession crimes by 47 percent, and decreased its use of law enforcement assisted diversion by 30 percent.
In the same period, SPD increased by 56 percent its use of Charge-By-Officer (CBO) to the City Attorney's Office (CAO) for personal possession and use arrests, which can bypasses jail booking, transfer to the CAO the decision to divert and may not offer arrested individuals immediate, in-field access to assessment, treatment or other services.
In a Council Public Safety Committee meeting on April 28, 2026, SPD Chief Shon Barnes and leaders from Purpose, Action...
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