Neighborhood Policing means different things to different people, but to Mayor Nickels it means more cops, less waiting for cops, and more chances for cops to address neighborhood issues without being called away to other hot spots because there aren’t enough cops.

The Mayors’ new plan for overhauling the Seattle Police Department, announced during his March 7 State of the City address, will add new officers, reassign beat patrol assignments that haven’t been touched since the 1970s, and significantly decrease 911 response times.

“[The plan] represents the most significant improvement in police services in more than 30 years,” said Nickels, in his speech. “These changes will make policing smarter.”

For the past two years, Nickels has been talking about increasing the size of the police force. In 2005 he announced an additional 25 officers would be hired, while in 2006 he promised eight more. This year, he said the city would add 154 new officers by 2012.

Additionally, beats will be reassigned using new software that employs a “mathematical queing theory” to identify problem areas. Using dispatch statistics, the program recommends priorities based on the most recent data, including the times of day officers are most needed.

There’s a reason, however, that shifts haven’t changed much for 30 years, and it’s called the Seattle Police Officers Guild, and software doesn’t negotiate. That’s the Mayor’s job, and we’ll see how he does.

—Paul Rice

Locked down, locked up

The anti-war demonstrators that have gathered nightly at the Port of Tacoma since March 3, in protest of Stryker Brigade vehicles and equipment being shipped to Iraq, have been practicing non-violence. Still, that hasn’t stopped 32 of them from being arrested for civil disobedience.

Holding signs above their heads and chanting peace slogans, the protesters — ranging in daily numbers from 15-200 — found three of their own arrested on March 6, for allegedly pushing their way past a line officers. Each was charged with felony assault and booked at $10,000 bail at the Pierce County Jail. Charges were dropped the following day.

On March 11, 23 people were taken into custody for crossing police barricades or carrying backpacks that were banned from the area.

Some protestors say these acts were necessary in accordance with their principles and in encouraging others to act against the war. Activist group Tacoma Port Militarization Resistance (TPMR) says in press release these demonstrations are not directed at the troops, but aim to support them by ending the immediate community’s participation in the occupation of Iraq.

The weaponry is being transferred from Ft. Lewis in support of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division’s deployment, scheduled for departure in April, according to a news release from the base.

A series of ongoing vigils, meetings, and trainings endorsed by many groups — such as the TPMR, Veterans for Peace, and Students for a Democratic Society — led up to recent protests and are part of a continuation of actions aimed to stop the US Military’s use of Washington ports.

Last May, at the Port of Olympia, hundreds of people protested and about three dozen were arrested over several days for demonstrating against the shipment of arms.

This year, the military at Ft. Lewis avoided Olympia and opted to ship from the Port of Tacoma in Pierce County, as Thurston County demanded they pay security and litigation costs for continued use of its port.

—Angie Jones

Supreme sign

Forget the appeals court. The tenants who have sued the Seattle Housing Authority over free speech are on their way to the state Supreme Court.

The Resident Action Council, an organization that represents 5,300 tenants in SHA high-rise buildings throughout the city, learned this week that its case will go straight to the Supreme Court for a ruling on whether tenants can put posters on the front of their apartment doors.

In December 2005, SHA tried to enact a new tenant rule prohibiting signs or photos on doors. The resident council sued and won in Superior Court last April. The housing authority appealed and had been scheduled to re-argue its case March 12, as reported last week (“Whose door?” RC, March 7).

Direct review by the Supreme Court saves time in a case that tenant attorney Eric Dunn of the Northwest Justice Project believes SHA cannot win, but could drag out if allowed to. Given his firm belief that the U.S. Constitution is with the tenants, “A favorable ruling [by the justices] would make positive case law for the entire state” – and put SHA’s case to rest once and for all.

—Cydney Gillis