Crime-ravaged Seattle is now so dangerous it can no longer protect its own workers: Security guards are hired to walk county staffers to station or ferry (but you’re on your own if you work in the private sector)
- King County employees will now have security guards escort them to their cars or public transportation hubs each evening after work
- Those given the option to use the guarded ‘walking bus’ work in offices in Downtown Seattle, and in the city’s Pioneer Square
- Both have become a hub for homeless encampments, many of whose residents are dangerous
- The move comes amid a surge in violent crime throughout Seattle, including a 35% increase in shootings
- Seattle’s former police chief Carmen Best, the city’s first black female top cop, said that residents are eager to see more cops on the streets
- She resigned in August 2020 after the City Council slashed the department by 100 officers following pressure from Black Lives Matter protests
- The city has since lost another 250 officers, including 100 who were ousted for not getting the Covid-19 vaccine
h/t B Flat