Washington crime report shows rise in drug arrests, but still below pre-pandemic levels

West Sound law enforcement agencies arrested more people for drug and narcotic violations in 2023 than they have in either of the past two years, according to a new state report released this month.

The 2023 Crime in Washington Report, an annual tally of arrests compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), found that while arrests rebounded somewhat from a two-year lull, they remained well below pre-pandemic levels.

West Sound law enforcement agencies (including the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office and the Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Bremerton, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island police departments) collectively arrested 114 people in 2023 for drug violations, according to WASPC data. That encompasses everything from use and possession of a controlled substance to more serious crimes like selling, distribution and manufacturing.

That is an increase compared to the past two years, which collectively saw 77 arrests. But the 2023 total remains below historic averages. Between 2016 and 2020 for example, West Sound law enforcement averaged more than 400 drug arrests per year.

The sudden drop and slight rebound in arrests coincide with changes to the state’s drug possession law, which fluctuated several times following a Washington Supreme Court ruling. In 2021, the court struck down the state’s possession law, arguing it punished unknowing possession. That pushed lawmakers to draft a replacement.

The state’s current possession law, known as the “Blake Fix,” took effect halfway through 2023. The fix made knowingly possessing drugs a gross misdemeanor while also emphasizing diversionary programs like counseling and rehabilitation.

That legislation, seen as a moderate approach, came after a years-long debate over how to regulate drug possession. In the intervening years, the state operated under a stopgap law that made possession – historically a felony in Washington – a simple misdemeanor.

The law, which also required police to refer people to treatment twice before making an arrest, was panned by many for effectively decriminalizing drug use in Washington. During its two years in effect, police made few arrests for simple drug possession.

“The drug laws have flip-flopped a lot since 2021,” Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey said in a presentation this month. “Halfway through 2023, they were re-criminalized.”

Violent crime and murder remain above pre-pandemic levels

The 2023 Crime in Washington report also found murders and violent crime decreased slightly in 2023. Both were down by over 5% compared to the prior year.

Yet those tallies remain higher than pre-pandemic, said WASPC executive director Steve Strachan.

“There’s a lot of stories nationally right now where they’re talking about 50-year lows in crime trends, 50-year lows in violent crime. That we’re back to pre-pandemic levels,” he said in a presentation this month. “I just want to say loud and clear we’re seeing some promising numbers in crime rates and crime numbers in the state of Washington. But we are nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.”

In 2022, Washington set a single-year record with 399 murders. That declined to 376 last year, but is still 87% higher than 2019.

At least some of that increase can be attributed to population growth. Murder rates per capita, while also seeing a pandemic-era spike, remained lower than they were in the mid ‘90s and late ‘80s, Strachan said.

Violent crime followed a similar trajectory. The rate of violent crimes per 1,000 residents was 3.56 in Washington last year. That is below the record-high rate of 5.39 set in 1992, but higher than recent years.

The violent crime rate is up about 20% since 2019. It remains about a point higher than the all-time low set in 2015.

Staffing shortages in law enforcement persist

For a 13th year in a row, Washington ranked last in the nation for police staffing. After a net loss of over 500 law enforcement officers across the past two years, Washington saw a net gain of 94 officers in 2023.

However, population growth outpaced officer gains and the number of officers per capita continued to decline. In 2023, the state had 1.36 officers per 1,000 residents.

Kitsap County has about one commissioned officer per every 1,000 people, according to WASPC data. Gig Harbor has about 1.5 officers per 1,000 people. The national average rate is 2.31, Strachan said.

“We have about 10,700 law enforcement officers in the state of Washington,” said Strachan, a former Bremerton Police chief. “If we were to get to the national average of 2.31 officers per capita we would need to hire 8,000 more officers.”

Conor Wilson is a Murrow News fellow, reporting for the Kitsap Sun and Gig Harbor Now, a nonprofit newsroom based in Gig Harbor, through a program managed by Washington State University.