Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week I introduced legislation that requests King County’s Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (PAO) to revamp its juvenile crime dashboard to include more comprehensive data on the types of crime that are occurring and how those crimes are being addressed by the PAO.
As our communities see a concerning rise in juvenile crime, this dashboard will allow members of the public to better understand the trends in specific crimes and see how cases are being addressed—for instance, how many are resolved, diverted, or declined. There is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to transparency on juvenile crime, and it’s my hope this dashboard will help keep our communities informed.
Of particular concern is the prosecution of juvenile sexual assault cases, which are at an all-time low filing rate of 17%. In addition, a report recently released by the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center found that 60% of victims' cases were pled down to a lesser non-sex offense and/or a misdemeanor charge. I am increasingly concerned that sexual assault victims may not be seeing justice in King County.
I will continue to keep you updated on this legislation as it is considered by the King County Council. In the meantime, you can read this article at KOMO News for more background.
All my best,
Reagan Dunn King County Councilmember District 9
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