Mayor sets up task force to try to find ways to curb hate crimes against gay community
SEATTLE -- Mayor Ed Murray has a plan to curb a rising tide of violence towards the LGBT community on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
Police reports show a steady increase in the number of assaults and harassment cases over the past year.
Murray just appointed 30 people, ranging from community activists and police officers, to the new hate crimes task force. Its goal is to come up with new ways to create a safer environment for everyone.
“I’m responding to a crisis we’re having in this community at this time, not simply because I’m gay, but because I’m the mayor of this city,” said Murray.
Some call Capitol Hill the center of gay culture in Seattle.
But many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people living and working in the neighborhood worry that intolerance is on the rise.
“I have been verbally harassed before a couple of times,” said Josh Castle.
Castle co-chairs the new task force created by the mayor.
“Our concern is that it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said.
Seattle police responded to 35 reported bias crimes on Capitol Hill in 2014; that number had grown by 11 since 2013.
Not every case was criminal, but Murray believes the increased intolerance harms everyone in the city.
“Some people are reacting to the advancement of a group of people who have been traditionally marginalized,” he said.
Social Outreach Seattle (SOS) begins a pilot program Thursday night using safety shuttles.
The group hopes to give LGBT neighbors and visitors a safe ride home when the sun goes down.
“It should be that you’re safe, but right now no one can guarantee that,” said Shaun Knittle, president of S.O.S. “What we’re trying to do is get people moving around to where they need to go.”
SOS hopes to expand their program with three more shuttles on the streets by 2016.
Murray expects his new task force to present their ideas on making the streets safer in two months.