The next CID Public Safety Council Meeting is November 4th. Learn more about the Public Safety Council here.
The next CID Public Safety Forum will be November 18th from 4:15PM-5:15PM online and in-person at Hing Hay Coworks. Please contact Christopher if you have any questions. These community meetings are held every 3rd Tuesday of each month.
View the meeting notes from the October 2025 forum here and below.
The CID Safety Ambassadors is a pilot program that started in June 2025. Ever since we launched we have been iterating and defining the role of the ambassadors within the neighborhood. A lot of community members have been uncertain about what they are able to reach out to an ambassadors for. Thus below you can find their responsibilities and scope of work:
Core Responsibilities:
Respond to Business & Resident Requests
Answer calls/texts for assistance with on-site incidents.
Provide real-time support and response.
De-escalate Unsafe Situations
Calm tense or potentially dangerous interactions using verbal and situational techniques.
Remove Individuals from Businesses (When Necessary)
Attempt de-escalation and negotiation for voluntary departure.
In extenuating circumstances:
Incident exceeds 30–40 minutes.
No response from SPD or a social worker.
On-camera consent from business owner/manager required for liability.
Physically remove individual only as last resort.
Patrol Coverage & Visibility
Conduct proactive walking patrols in:
Chinatown
Japantown
Little Saigon
Boundaries: South of Yesler Way, West of Rainier Ave S, North of S Dearborn St, East of 4th Ave S.
Escort Support
Provide walking escorts for workers, residents, and vulnerable individuals to ensure safe passage.
Relationship Building
Maintain positive presence by regularly engaging:
Local businesses
Residents
Unhoused individuals
Visitors
Outreach & Referrals
Conduct outreach to unhoused community members.
Connect individuals to:
Case management services
Housing navigation
Mental health and addiction recovery resources
Wellness Support
Distribute food, water, and sanitation supplies during patrols.
Conduct check-ins to assess individual needs.
Emergency Support
Administer first aid and Naloxone in overdose or emergency situations.
Environmental Issue Reporting
Submit Find It, Fix It reports for:
Graffiti
Illegal dumping
Encampments
Public maintenance concerns
Incident Documentation & Mapping
Log all incidents in ArcGIS system to support neighborhood data visualization, identify hotspots, and guide strategic responses.
The purpose of the data is to both track the interactions of the ambassadors and also to help paint a clearer picture of what every day life is like in our neighborhood. Note that the data shown should be taken with a grain of salt. The ambassadors work from 2PM-10PM and can only be at one place at a time. Above is a heat map of approximately 200 incidents in the CID/Little Saigon Area.
Learn more about the CIDBIA Safety Amabassadors here.
Column graph of ambassador data
Here is data of the ambassador program collected since September 2025. This graph shows all of the incidents and interactions the safety ambassadors have had. Each incident can fall under multiple categories. For example:
A business calls the ambassadors to help remove an unhoused individual from their premise.
This would fall under a Business Check-in, De-escalation, Wellness Check, and Removal from Premise because the ambassadors are responding to a call from a business, they are calmly speaking to the unhoused individual to leave the premise, and they negotiating and bartering by offering resources.
Below you can find a glossary of each category:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Wellness Check / Outreach | Wellness checks and Outreach refers to the ambassadors interacting with the unhoused to talk to them to see how they are doing and providing them with resources such as food, water, and referrals to REACH/LEAD. |
| De-Escalation | De-escalation refers to the calming of tense situations. |
| Removal from Premise | Removal from Premise refers to the removal of people from property. Generally happens on request of a business. |
| Business Check-ins | Business Check-ins refers to the ambassadors visiting a local business. This can be businesses that are on a list that change daily or if a business calls for help. |
| Property Damage | Property Damage refers to any damage to property such as car break-ins, graffiti, broken windows, etc. |
| Public Drug Use | Public Drug Use refers to witnessing the use of drugs in the public eye. |
| Needle Disposal | Needle Disposal refers to the removal of surgical needles used for drugs left on the streets. |
| Naloxone | Naloxone refers to the administration of Narcan to individuals that are under the influence of drugs. |
| Find It Fix It Reports | Find It Fix It refers to the reporting of issues to the City of Seattle. This includes overfilled trash cans, graffiti, or the formation of unhoused encampements. |
| Resident Assistance | Resident Assistance refers to requests for help from locals that live in the neightborhood. |
| Visitor Interaction | Visitor Interaction refers to requests for help from non-locals that are within the CID/Little Saigon area. |
| 911 Escalation | 911 Escalation refers to situations that require intervention from higher forms of authority such as brawls and severe injuries. |
| Report of SPD in Area | Report of SPD in Area refers to sightings of the Seattle Police Department in the area. |
| Report of SFD in Area | Report of SFD in Area refers to the sightings of the Seattle Fire Department in the area. |
| Report of EMT in Area | Report of EMT in Area refers to the sightings of medical personnel in the area. |
I would like to take a moment to acknowledge some of the work the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has been doing in our neighborhood. Much of SPD’s efforts occur behind the scenes, and as a result, the community may not always be aware of the initiatives underway. When residents observe individuals struggling with substance use in public spaces, it is understandable that questions arise about why laws are not being more actively enforced and why these issues appear to persist.
It is important to note that when a police officer makes an arrest, they are responsible for completing the associated case processing and documentation themselves. This procedure can take approximately four to six hours, during which the officer is unavailable to respond to emergency calls or patrol duties. Given the current staffing challenges within the department, this time commitment represents a significant limitation on available resources.
Despite these constraints, SPD has made commendable progress over the past year in addressing drug trafficking within our community. Their continued efforts, though not always visible to the public, demonstrate a strong commitment to improving safety and quality of life in our neighborhood.
Five indicted for drug trafficking in “The Jungle” and Seattle’s International District (01/15/25)
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/five-indicted-drug-trafficking-jungle-and-seattles-international-district
Seattle Police Operations in Chinatown-International District Lead to 11 Arrests, Narcotics Seized (04/04/25)
https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2025/04/04/seattle-police-operations-in-chinatown-international-district-lead-to-11-arrests-narcotics-seized/
Two interrelated drug rings taken down in series of arrests following wiretap investigation (06/02/25)
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/two-interrelated-drug-rings-taken-down-series-arrests-following-wiretap-investigation
Two Brothers Arrested During Narcotics Operation in the Chinatown-International District (09/04/25)
https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2025/09/04/video-two-brothers-arrested-during-narcotics-operation-in-the-chinatown-international-district/
Police Arrest Two Men Selling Drugs in the Chinatown-International District (10/13/25)
https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2025/10/13/police-arrest-two-men-selling-drugs-in-the-chinatown-international-district/
While we do see the affects of drug trafficking in our neighborhood on a daily basis, the police are working to address this issue at its core.
Over the past two months the CIDBIA, in partnership with SCIDpda and FLS, have been working with numerous businesses in our neighborhood to apply CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) principles to create a safer environment.
I am currently working with more than 20 businesses in the CID to repair damaged property and install security improvements. This process takes time, so I will provide a more comprehensive recap at the end of the year detailing the total amount of funding we were able to distribute to businesses in the CID.
We are working with the Office of Economic Development through the Back to Business Fund to help reimburse damages to storefronts that have had damages since July 2024. If your business is in need of repairs and security, please contact Christopher Yip.