2022 Seattle Public Safety Survey Results

Summary results of top public safety concerns, most prominent themes, and community perceptions from the 2022 Seattle Public Safety Survey for the City of Seattle and Seattle Police Department’s Five Precincts and Micro-Communities

Summary results of top public safety concerns and community perceptions from the 2022 Seattle Public Safety Survey for Seattle and the Seattle Police Department’s Five Precincts and Micro-Communities.

The survey included question sets that make up distinct scales that measure community perceptions of police, neighborhood features, and crime as related to public safety. Results are reported for question sets measuring Police Legitimacy, Collective Efficacy-Informal Social Control, Collective Efficacy-Social Cohesion, Fear of Crime, and Social Disorganization.

  • Seattle Public Safety Survey
  • Micro-Community Policing
  • SPD MCPP

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Top Public Safety Concerns and Prominent Themes for Seattle Citywide

Top Public Safety Concerns

The top public safety concerns for the City of Seattle and Seattle Police Department’s five precincts and micro-communities are reported based on quantitative results from the Seattle Public Safety Survey in response to the question “What, if any, are current public safety and security concerns in the neighborhood where you live and/or work? Select all that apply.”

Most Prominent Themes

The most prominent themes for the City of Seattle and Seattle Police Department’s five precincts and micro-communities were identified from narrative comments in survey responses to questions “Do you have any additional thoughts on public safety and security issues in Seattle, generally, or your neighborhood, specifically, that you would like to share?” and “Do you have any thoughts on the Micro-Community Policing Plan Initiative that you would like to share?”

Measures of Community Perceptions of Public Safety

The survey included question sets that make up distinct scales that measure community perceptions of police, neighborhood features, and crime as related to public safety. Results are reported for question sets measuring Police Legitimacy, Collective Efficacy-Informal Social Control, Collective Efficacy-Social Cohesion, Fear of Crime, and Social Disorganization.

Summary of Findings Citywide

The top public safety concerns are Property Crime, Police Capacity, Homelessness, Traffic Safety, and Community & Public Safety Capacity. The most prominent themes residents in the city of Seattle commented on in their narrative responses are Public Order Crime, Property Crime, Traffic Safety, Fear of Crime, and Violent Crime. This is the first time the theme Fear of Crime has appeared in the top five themes.