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Renton motor vehicle thefts, burglaries, and robberies all spiked as police pursuits were curtailed in 2021; then declined when police were reauthorized to pursue in 2024. Reckless driving injuries and fatalities are not shown on this chart but they also climbed dramatically with the non-pursuit law.
Washington State legislators undertook a deadly experiment in 2021, and residents of our state suffered immeasurable pain and suffering as a result. The Legislator limited the ability of police to pursue criminals, and consequently increased motor vehicle thefts, burglaries, robberies, and (most tragically of all) reckless driving fatalities. Their ill-conceived law empowered perpetrators of these dangerous and destructive crimes to simply drive away from police, even in stolen cars if they chose to, without worry about being pursued. Many of us spoke out vehemently about the harm this was causing our residents, but it took years of heartbreaking tragedies to finally persuade enough of our legislators to undo their foolish law.
Washington legislators were determined to show that they could reduce the 3 to 6 deaths that occur statewide from police chases, and instead of altering that trend, they got hundreds of new fatalities as criminals sped recklessly with abandon through all our streets and highways. The latest statistics show Renton saw hundreds of additional crimes during this time period, as can be seen in the chart above. Rates of crimes in these categories finally began falling in 2024, when the police pursuit limitations were repealed.
Currently our legislature is looking at reduced penalties for perpetrators caught in child sex stings, as well as reduced sentences for a large number of other crimes. They are also considering preventing officers from pulling over cars for broken equipment and/or lapsed registrations (and typically insurance). I hope they put more analysis and thought into their deliberations this year than they did in 2021, when they effectively sentenced many of our innocent residents to beatings, burglaries, robberies, assaults and even death on our roadways and elsewhere.
Councilmember Carmen Rivera is still a huge proponent of keeping police from capturing criminals. Among other things.
Wow, you really need to check your facts before spouting off nonsense.
It’s laughable that you’d say she wants to “keep police from capturing criminals,” as if she’s advocating for some lawless free-for-all. She’s fighting for a future where Black, brown, queer, and other marginalized communities aren’t terrorized by police brutality.
And let’s be perfectly clear: wanting to defund the police doesn’t mean “no public safety.” It means redirecting obscene police budgets toward community resources that actually prevent crime rather than using militarized forces to patrol our neighborhoods.
Carmen Rivera champions progressive approaches to public safety that value human life and dignity over archaic, punitive systems. If you can’t understand that, then maybe you need to pick up a book.
Stay mad. Because we’re not backing down, and neither is Councilmember Rivera. She’s doing the work to equitable communities for everyone, not just the privileged few.