On a recent afternoon, Seattle’s Little Saigon sidewalks were busy. Some people openly smoked drugs or were sprawled out on the sidewalk. Others displayed an assortment of items that appeared to be for sale.
This area is well known for its drug trade and the selling of stolen items. Robert Peoples was out picking up litter as part of an effort to clean up the neighborhood. He described a variety of items that can be found in the unauthorized open air market: “Cologne, toilet paper, dishes, pot pans, blankets, any homeware needs, and, of course, illicit drugs.”
Little Saigon has struggled with crime for years, especially after the pandemic. In response, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced in June that the city is cracking down on crime in the neighborhood, centering efforts on the area around the intersection of 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street.
Wilson outlined a plan on June 17 to address public safety issues in that area, including North Beacon Hill.
“We will no longer tolerate open-air drug sale and use,” Wilson said in a written statement. “We must disrupt the drug dealing, public disorder, and other illegal activity that has destabilized this community.”
The first step of Wilson’s plan is to send more police to the neighborhood to ensure sidewalks and bus stops are safe and accessible. Officers will inform people involved in illegal activity that this behavior will no longer be permitted. Those who persist will face jail time or be enrolled in the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program.
A more active police presence in this area may surprise some. On the corner of 12th and Jackson, Peoples was shocked when a Seattle Police cruiser pulled up and an officer got out to disperse a crowd.
“They don’t do this, man, get out of the vehicle,” he said. “This is definitely not characteristic.”
The community advocacy group Friends of Little Saigon is located near the troubled intersection. Its interim executive director, Valerie Tran, has noticed more police in the area, but it is unclear whether they’re having a lasting effect on the community.
“There are times throughout the day where 12th and Jackson does look cleared out,” she said. “I think it’s mostly around the times the police are there. And then the activity returns.”
According to Tran, local businesses have suffered immensely as public safety has deteriorated. Little Saigon is the hub of the Vietnamese-American population in the Puget Sound region. Local businesses are central to the neighborhood's vibrancy, but many have watched as their customers have avoided the area due to its crime.
“They’re not coming to the businesses, they’re not coming to the churches or the temples. They’re not seeing this neighborhood as a resource or an amenity,” Tran said.
Along with losing business, shop owners have had to shoulder the cost of property damage and theft. Tran said this includes everything from graffiti to cars crashing through storefronts. Friends of Little Saigon has tracked approximately 25 business closures since 2022.
“A lot of businesses have cited public safety as issues for wanting to leave this neighborhood or the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said.
Wilson’s new strategy aims to tackle the area’s crime while also dedicating $1.1 million to support services like overdose response and prevention as well as initiatives that help residents and local businesses. Even though this is a one-time investment, Tran said city leaders have indicated that this infusion could lay the groundwork for more funding in the future.
Tran said the city’s new initiative seems to be a more holistic approach to tackling the neighborhood’s public safety issues than past attempts. But she will wait to see if it is able to help decrease the rate of overdoses, thefts and other crimes in the coming months.
