By James Tabafunda
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID) grapples with overlapping crises: violent crime, chronic homelessness, and the constant spread of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Residents and business owners contend daily with threats to safety, persistent street disorder, and uncertainty about the future.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes (Photo by James Tabafunda)
Stepping into the dire situation is newly appointed Police Chief Shon Barnes, unanimously confirmed by the City Council in July as Seattle’s 38th chief. Barnes, previously chief in Madison, Wisconsin (2021 to 2024) and deputy chief in Salisbury, North Carolina (2017 to 2020), is recognized for data-driven strategies and face-to-face neighborhood engagement.
Violent crime and the correct “dosage”
Public concern surged on Aug. 28, when a 21-year-old woman was shot and pistol-whipped at Hoa Mai Park—the latest in a string of assaults and shootings in the CID. The shooter remains at large, fueling the neighborhood’s ongoing frustration.
Barnes says intervention should take place before violence escalates. “When someone is shot, when someone is stabbed, there is something that has happened prior to that so early intervention, making good community members, good witnesses call us early to let us know this thing could escalate,” he said.
Since his public swearing-in ceremony on July 9, he identified urgency, empathy, and courage as guiding principles. He has also expanded officer patrols in hot-spot blocks of the CID, installed new surveillance camera systems in cooperation with city departments, and directed officers to focus on repeat violent offenders.
“When risk is high, the opportunities decrease. We’re trying to make it so that … you’re more likely to get caught,” he said. “You can reduce someone’s motivation to commit a property crime by increasing the risk that they’re going to be apprehended or if they are apprehended, they’re going to receive punishment.”
Borrowing from New York’s CompStat model, he holds regular CSTAT meetings every 28 days, where commanders must account for trends and adjust deployment.
He refers to this as getting the right “dosage” of police presence and said, “Dosage, dosage, dosage is very, very important.”
Homelessness, encampments, and community engagement
Seating area near the Red Metal Gateway at Hing Hay Park in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (Photo by James Tabafunda)
For CID residents, encampments block sidewalks and create a sense that street disorder goes unmanaged. Barnes insists police cannot treat homelessness solely as a law enforcement issue. “What I hope to bring to the department is a renewed sense of community engagement through neighborhood-oriented policing,” he said.
Drawing on his past as a public-school history teacher from 1996 to 2000, Barnes brings empathy to his current position and said that policing should involve compassion, collaboration, and support when dealing with homelessness.
Some who live on the streets can benefit if the city invests in them getting the help they need. “No more use of narcotics, address the issues of alcoholism, or perhaps address a mental health concern,” he said.
“Trauma is real, and it manifests itself in very, very different ways. And making sure that we can do that will reduce that population,” he adds. “It’s not just about where to house them because then, they’re the same person. They just have shelter. Why not figure out how to make them whole?”
Adonis Ducksworth, Seattle City Council, District 2 candidate (Photo by James Tabafunda)
Barnes’ approach has found common ground with voices like Adonis Ducksworth, Seattle City Council, District 2 candidate, who shares a belief in treating those on the streets with dignity.
Ducksworth, whose father suffered from addiction, alcoholism, and homelessness, says housing and worker retraining must be central. “There are good jobs in the trades that could potentially help them get back some of that dignity and self-respect and put some money in their pocket so they can move at some point, be able to reconnect, and buy a home,” he said.
Confronting drug trafficking and the fentanyl crisis
Fentanyl and methamphetamine persist as the most visible threats in the CID. A joint SPD-federal investigation last June led to the arrest of 11 people in the neighborhood in a major drug bust, breaking up entrenched drug operations. “We made a significant arrest in that, a significant seizure … of guns, drugs, and money,” he said.
His leadership during large-scale investigations not only yielded seizures and arrests, but set a standard of how local law enforcement can utilize federal partnerships, specialized intelligence, and cross-border cooperation in responding to the drug epidemic.
A proponent of getting to the underlying issues that cause people to use drugs. Barnes is clear that law enforcement alone is not enough. “Overdoses are a public health problem. There are not enough police officers to take enough fentanyl off the street,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy.”
Safeguarding businesses and restoring trust
CID business owners face constant threats of shoplifting, vandalism, and assaults that have devastated once-thriving corridors of mom-and-pop shops, grocery stores, and restaurants.
Chinatown-International District in Seattle (Photo by James Tabafunda)
Barnes said his philosophy of policing is shaped by the advice of his father, a small-business owner. “He said, ‘Businesses are not money-making machines. Businesses provide a service to the community. The money you get is the applause for your job doing well,’” Barnes said.
“I grew up under the mentorship of a man that knew how to build trust so that’s what I do as a police officer … I’m also in the habit of trust, too.”
Drawing from this foundation, Barnes has met various stakeholders including residents, community organizations, City Council members, city department heads, law enforcement partners, and business owners. “Public safety is a shared responsibility, built on a foundation of strong partnerships between law enforcement and the communities we serve,” he said. “True progress comes from broad community engagement. We are committed to transparency in our operations, knowing that true, meaningful engagement and accountability are essential elements for building and maintaining public trust.”
His Seattle-centric policing plan consists of three interlocking pillars: evidence-based, police-led crime prevention; community and government-led initiatives; and services and support-led efforts. “It’s a commitment to doing that, but that’s a little bit different than what we’ve done and how we’ve done it before,” Barnes said. “It’s based on accountability. It’s based on ownership, and it’s based on city collaboration.”
Measures include Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) zones and real-time surveillance centers. “We need to use those to our advantage to ensure that we can reduce the risk of disorder in and around those businesses,” he said.
“We need to do a better job of determining who needs help and who’s not here to help. There are some people out there that need help, and so that’s when the caring part of Seattle has to kick in. But for those people who are out there, who are not here to help, that’s when the police service has to kick in.”
Ducksworth said policymaking must ensure business owners’ voices are heard. “When the community gives us the answer, when they tell us the solution, then it’s on us to actually implement that, do what we can to make that happen,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we are listening, and we’re listening to understand, not listening to respond.”
The road ahead
Barnes concedes Seattle’s problems will not be solved overnight or without error and emphasizes transparency of both crime data and police accountability are central to restoring public trust. The SPD is on a rebuilding track, hiring 120 officers so far in 2025. Last year, 25 new officers joined the SPD.
Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes
“We’re going to make mistakes. I’m going to make some mistakes,” Barnes said. “But I will own those mistakes, and we will move forward. We’ll continue to grow. We will learn from our failures.”
“We’re going to learn from why it didn’t work, and we’ll get better as an agency that way, and those are our priorities.”
Restoring safety in the CID demands daily commitment and patience from residents and business owners. Whether the city’s new chief finds success remains the question city leaders and CID residents will monitor in the months ahead.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to ensure not only that you are safe, but that you feel safe,” Barnes said.
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