‘Significant rise’ in use of force in Olympia, police auditor says. What else does data show?
Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen and Auditor Tara Parker told the Olympia City Council this week that they saw a significant rise in use of force incidents in the first six months of 2024, compared to the first half of 2023.
However, there also was a sharp decrease in the number of juveniles involved in use of force incidents this year compared to last, and fewer reports of other types of crimes in the city.
Allen said the city’s Crisis Response Unit is projected to make more than 4,400 contacts with people this year, compared to 3,144 last year. He said that’s solely due to the work the downtown walking crew is doing to connect better with folks and get people the resources they need.
Allen said the city is on track to be roughly in the same shape it was last year in terms of crimes against people and property, but with a couple notable exceptions.
He said the city is projected to be down to 54 robberies compared to 92 last year, a roughly 43% drop.
Allen said auto thefts continue to decline regionally as well. He said if the pace stays the same, auto thefts will be down about 27% compared to last year. He contributed those positive numbers to the department’s Flock Safety surveillance system.
Parker counted 38 use of force incidents in her report, twice as than were reported in the first half of 2023. Two of them involved subjects between the ages of 14 and 17, and three involved people between the ages of 50 and 59.
The report states that none of the use of force incidents led to serious injuries this year.
Twenty-five of the incidents involved subjects who appeared to be mentally ill and/or impaired by alcohol or drugs, according to the report. Those 25 didn’t respond to de-escalation efforts.
Nine of the incidents involved subjects who were unhoused. The two juvenile incidents involved two 16-year-olds.
Parker acknowledged in her report there were serious and legitimate concerns about potential racial bias in policing in Olympia.
“Here, seven, or 18%, of the 38 use of force incidents involved Black individuals; yet the most recent available census data states only 3% of Olympians are Black. This disparity warrants scrutiny,” the report says.
However, she said criminologists and social scientists have established that comparing a group’s population to its representation in law enforcement encounters isn’t a legitimate measure of racial bias in policing.
“This is because there are numerous social, historical and structural dynamics that unequally contribute to rates of poverty, substance use disorders, mental illness, access to education, health care and housing – all of which can disproportionally affect one’s likelihood of encountering law enforcement,” she wrote.
“Therefore, a meaningful examination into whether officers’ racial bias contributed to disparities in law enforcement interactions requires a complex analysis of demographics related to who initiated the crime reports, the types of crime reported, police responses to the reports, police initiated interactions, rate of arrests, whether officers had discretion to make arrests, and comparisons with incidents that do not result in arrests.”
Parker wrote in her report that OPD called the Crisis Response Unit for assistance when appropriate. However, in many instances, the CRU involvement was not an option because they do not respond when there is an active threat of injury to a subject or others.
Because of this, Parker said it’s of paramount importance that the department continue to invest in training and resources that help officers in identifying people in crisis. They should also continue to invest in de-escalation techniques that are most effective with people who are mentally impaired due to mental illness, substance abuse, developmental stage, or other crisis circumstances.
Parker will conduct an end-of-year report likely at the beginning of next year.
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