2 ms·
The Eastside just externalizes its homelessness to Seattle by way of King County jail
by whateveracct 4y ago
The Eastside just externalizes its homelessness to Seattle by way of King County jail
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoIf only. KC judges and prosecutors are loathe to put people in jail these days. They were even talking about releasing that guy who bashed in the head of an Amazon worker in beltown.
- whateveracct 4y agoDoesn't matter - if they get bussed there and released, they're now in Seattle and no longer Redmond and Bellevue's problem.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoIn Seattle you can throw up a tent and you might have to remove it a few weeks later. In Bellevue, you lay down on a bench and swat is out in 5 minutes (even if you won’t go to jail, the police will harass you enough that you’ll leave). Bellevue makes it annoying to do illegal things, Seattle makes it convenient, so of course they are going to head to Seattle, it’s simply the path of least resistance.
- whateveracct 4y agoSo basically, the Bellevue homelessness policy is Not In My Back Yard.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoIt’s basically enforce laws aggressively, and make the problem go to the more permissive city. It wouldn’t work if Seattle police started enforcing laws, Bellevue would be screwed at that point.
- roguecoder 4y agoIt is illegal to ban camping unless free housing is available: https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/october-2022/new-9th-circuit-ruling-on-anti-camping-ordinances https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/october-2022/new... It's Bellevue that is violating the law by enforcing an unconstitutional ordinance, rather than the people sleeping on benches.