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Look at these two charts. Two serious safety issues—homicides and pedestrian traffic deaths—which cause immense heartbreak and loss to Seattle communities. Both have seen concerning trends in the last decade. Are they both taken seriously by local media and policy makers?

Deaths of our unhoused neighbors are also a public safety issue that don’t receive enough coverage by Seattle’s mass media outlets.

Another note … tracking homicides and pedestrian fatalities per capita going back 50 years would provide useful context. The homicide spike during COVID lockdown is heartbreaking, but was a small increase during a steep multi decade decline.

Given that both the numbers are in comparison to the same city, it is using the same population yardstick. But yes, it is important context that there are far more people living in Seattle in 2025 than 2016