Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. MacEwen’s subscribers Feb. 13, 2023. To subscribe to Sen. MacEwen’s email, click here.
Concerns about sex-predator housing spread — it’s not just an issue for Tenino
Dear friends and neighbors,
Sometimes it’s hard for the Legislature to admit a mistake. We are seeing that today, as police stand down, car thefts explode, and criminals get away – yet the Legislature resists a sensible solution.
The problem is a law passed two years ago that makes it harder for police to chase suspects who flee the scene of the crime. Most of us are eager to repeal it, and go back to the old law. Unfortunately, we face internal resistance within the Legislature, and it looks like a showdown is coming.
This clash over the police-pursuit bill is provoking one of the biggest dramas so far in our 2023 legislative session, and I’ll tell you about it in this week’s e-newsletter. Also, there’s more news to report on the sex-predator housing issue that has caused such a stir in South Thurston County – we’re not alone. I hope you’ll let me know what you think about these issues and others. My contact information is below. Your views are important to me, as I represent you in the Washington Senate.
Drew MacEwen
Senator, 35th Legislative District
Legislature restricts criminal pursuits, and car theft rises 50 percent
Bipartisan support for fix, but resistance within Legislature could force showdown
If anyone still thinks it was a good idea to restrict police chases, the widow of Sgt. Jeremy Brown will tell them otherwise. If it wasn’t for House Bill 1054, Brown might be alive today. Brown was shot and killed in Vancouver on July 25, 2021, by suspects who earlier had been allowed to flee the scene of a crime.
The law restricting police pursuits was passed just a few months before, part of a wave of anti-police legislation we saw that year. Urban lawmakers were responding to the George Floyd riots and the complaints of activists who believe law enforcement is the problem, not people who break the law. We got laws that put the handcuffs on police. The new rules restricted police weapons and tactics, and established central control from Olympia of police-conduct investigations – ensuring political interference when high-profile complaints are considered. At one point, when a Longview SWAT team cornered a suspect in a house, police were reduced to throwing rocks.
The hysteria of 2021 has waned, and last year we turned back some of the worst of these restrictions. But the police-pursuit law remains an enormous problem. Police arriving at the scene of a crime used to be able to give chase based on an eyewitness description – the “reasonable suspicion” standard. But the new law changed it to “probable cause” – for example, seeing the suspect in the act. Police are forced to stand down as suspects flee, and criminals know it. The State Patrol tells us there used to be about 1,200 cases annually in which police pursuit was justified under the old standard. Last year it was 3,100. Car thefts statewide are up 50 percent.
Today there is strong bipartisan support to restore the old law and let police do their jobs. Lawmakers of both parties have signed on to bills that would fix the problem. Unfortunately there are still a few holdouts, and these include the chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, who has vowed not to let reform legislation pass her committee. The issue is too “politicized,” she says – Olympia-speak that means she’s getting too much pressure from the other side. One outcome may be a vote in the full Senate to overrule the chair. Votes like these are rare, but sometimes they are absolutely necessary. Stay tuned!
Tenino sex-predator placement put on hold; concerns spread to other communities
Several bills tackle statewide problem
State officials held an informative webinar about the Tenino-area sex-predator housing plan. To watch, click here or on the video above. They may be following the law, but the weaknesses in the law are becoming apparent.
Many of you are concerned about the state’s plan to house convicted sex predators in a low-security adult group home in rural Thurston County. I’m with you on that. The plan has raised concerns about security, law enforcement response times, the failure to alert the community and local government agencies in a timely fashion, and the wisdom of the idea in the first place.
There are new developments to report. The most important is that the plan has been put on hold. Thurston County’s decision to require new drinking water and septic permits at 2813 140th Ave. SW has forced a delay, and the first move-in did not take place on Feb. 1 as scheduled.
While county officials reconsider zoning rules, we’re working at the Capitol on the underlying problem – the state’s plan to move some of Washington’s most dangerous sex offenders from a secure facility on McNeil Island to less-restrictive group homes in communities across the state. Our area is simply one of the first to be affected. The city of Enumclaw witnessed a similar uproar last week when a similar sex-predator placement was announced.
I have introduced a bill in the Senate to improve community notification procedures, SB 5544, and my 35th District seatmate, Rep. Travis Couture, has introduced companion legislation in the House, HB 1734. The senator representing the Enumclaw area, Phil Fortunato, has introduced SB 5739, which would prevent less-restrictive sex-predator housing within two miles of a school.
But the most overarching proposal comes from my other 35th District seatmate, Rep. Dan Griffey. HB 1813 would halt new sex-predator placements in these less-restrictive group homes while a legislative task force reconsiders the policy. It’s a good idea. We need an immediate moratorium until the Legislature can come up with a comprehensive long-term plan to protect our communities.
Did you know…?
Costs imposed by government add $127,968 to the price of a typical new home in Washington state. Something worth thinking about, as the Legislature considers ways to increase the availability of affordable housing.
Contact me!
My most important duty is to serve you. I hope you will contact me or my legislative assistant, Rob Barnes, if you have any concerns about state government, or a problem with a state agency.
Phone: (360) 786-7668
Email: Drew.MacEwen@leg.wa.gov
Mail: P.O. Box 40435, Olympia, Wash. 98501
Leave a message on the Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000