Crime and violence still plague downtown

SEATTLE -- Sounders game night and tens of thousands of people make their way through downtown, Belltown, pioneer square and SODO.

Safety is not an issue for most.

"Generally I'm just more aware of my surroundings in places I'm not sure of but I've never felt like my life was in danger at all,” downtown visitor Lindsay Kolar said.

In spite of a drop in violent crime in the downtown core some downtown residents tell us; there is danger here... And sadly people get attacked here far more often than some realize.

“Recently I saw someone getting beat up at two in the morning across the street actually that doesn't make me feel safe,” downtown shopper Kirra Steinbrueck said.

The latest attacked happened Saturday morning near 3rd and Yesler.

Police say a man being robbed of his backpack refused to give it up and was severely beaten by a group of men.

Fortunately his primary attacker was caught a short later.

In another attack, coast guard veteran Rory Burke, seen here in the tuxedo, was brutally beaten, robbed, and left for dead in downtown.

A lot of attacks are caught on tape.

A girl was beaten in Westlake Park.

A man was blindsided while walking through an alley in Pioneer Square.

He's out cold and his attacker rolls him over and goes through his pockets.

"This really is unacceptable. This is about our neighborhood about something that`s been going wrong for a long time, Downtown Seattle Association president Kate Joncas said.

Joncas says solving the problem is easy; put more police officers on the street.

"For cities our size we are still below the median I don`t know if there is a magic number but we know we don`t have enough,” Joncas said.

In response to the growing frustration and concern when it comes to downtown safety, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn recently announced more than three-and-a-half million dollars to combat crime.

Some of this money will be used to hire new officers, but some will help fund a huge new plan to give drunks, drug addicts, and the mentally ill a chance to get help instead getting jailed.

"This is a really good start and I think a good model, but more is needed.  And the encouraging thing is now we have a partnership among everybody that needs to be at the table.  If we can stick together we might be able to make continued changes,” Joncas said.

Police say the usual rules apply.

Try to walk in pairs or in a group and try to make sure to stay in well-lit areas and out of alleys.