Bellevue Cracks Down on Repeat Offenders, Prioritizes Public Safety and Treatment
On September 23, the Bellevue City Council passed a preliminary public safety measure that will benefit small businesses, protect retail employees, save taxpayers money, and ensure activists judges won’t immediately release repeat criminals. Final passage of the bill is expected to take place on October 7.
By a 6 to 1 vote, the council passed the first motion to impose mandatory sentences for repeat offenders of retail theft. The new law will require judges to impose a 30-day minimum jail sentence for any adult convicted of a new offense while having two or more theft convictions during the previous two years.
While some in the judiciary express concerns about constraining judges with minimum sentences, many local officials are worried about repeat criminals being immediately released by activist judges only to commit more crimes. Also, with the Democrat legislative leaders aggressively pushing bills to give judges even more sentencing discretion, many city leaders want to ensure repeat criminals don’t wreak havoc in their community.
There are a few exceptions to the sentence mandate which will allow some to serve their sentence under house arrest and provide diversion of the sentence if the offender completes an addiction treatment program (repetitive retail theft is a common method for many to fund their drug addiction). As bill sponsor Councilmember Jared Nieuwenhuis stated, the police will be able to threaten jail time to encourage addicts to receive treatment.
While many in Washington State view retail theft as a problem only impacting Seattle’s businesses, there are signs that the problem is becoming a growing concern in East King County communities. Councilmember Nieuwenhuis stated retail theft in Bellevue climbed 45% between 2019 to 2024 (from slightly more than 1,800 cases to approximately 2,600).
In the last month, Fred Meyer announced that it was closing stores across King County including a store in neighboring Redmond due to high security costs and inventory loses due to retail theft.
These grocery store closures can be devastating to seniors, those with mobility issues, and lower-income households as they create “Food Deserts” where it is difficult for some to buy fresh food. While some Democrat politicians like to blame others for this “equity-related” problem, the fact is that it is the same politicians’ reckless crime policies which are causing neighborhoods to loose their grocery stores.
Bellevue, learning from the many mistakes made by Seattle’s progressive leadership, decided to attack the retail theft crisis before it caused similar problems to what has occurred on the west side of Lake Washington.
Seattle business owners, fearing for the safety of their employees and customers, have closed many downtown retail outlets in the past five years, leaving behind blocks of boarded-up windows in the city’s commercial core. The owners saw firsthand how out-of-control retail theft creates an environment where more crimes are committed and many customers are fearful of visiting their downtown businesses.
Commercial office tenants had the same safety fears as retail businesses, leading many to end their lease. Seattle’s office vacancy rate jumped from 5.9% in 2020 to a disturbing 32.4% in 2024.
This exodus caused Seattle’s commercial real estate values to plummet, and this in turn caused commercial tax revenues to plunge. King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson stated that in 2020, businesses paid 35% of the county’s property tax bill. In 2024 they paid just 17% with residential taxes making up the difference.
The Bellevue ordinance was passed to not only reduce retail theft, but also to prevent the same Seattle-like exodus of commercial taxpayers who fund the city’s social services with their large tax payments. During council debate, several of the councilmembers spoke about Bellevue creating a reputation of enforcing laws that protect its residents, businesses, workers, and visitors. They stated that to fund the city’s social services, there needs to be a positive retail environment.
Bellevue’s anti-retail theft measure is similar to one passed by the City of Marysville and then in Everett, where the primary purpose of the ordinance was to nudge repeat offenders into treatment.
“These are people who are circling through our court systems on a regular basis,” Chief of Marysville Police Erik Scairpon said. “The practice of turning someone back to the streets and not giving them an opportunity to get sober and resources is a missed opportunity.”
35 individuals have been convicted for repetitive retail theft violations since Marysville passed their law in 2023. 18 of these people have accepted drug treatment, instead of serving extended time in jail.
Snohomish County Council Chair Nate Nehring recently told ChangeWA that a couple other city councils have adopted mandatory minimum sentencing for such crimes as “a legislative fix to protect communities from activist judges” who refuse to hand out appropriate sentences on those who repeatedly commit crimes.
This is a growing problem for many cities where progressive judges have placed their political philosophy over the community’s public safety. This has resulted in soft or no punishment for repeat offenders.
Bellevue’s willingness to confront tough issues and place a high value on public safety is stark difference from Seattle’s progressive policies which have allowed criminals to escape justice and caused a once vibrant downtown to look like an urban ghost town with boarded up store fronts where the only human activity is the corner open-air drug market.
Business activities provide the financial engines for local economies. Besides employment opportunities, it pays much of the community’s bills for important social services. By attacking the retail theft problem, the Bellevue City Council is making sure its government services stay well-funded and people can receive the help they need.