King County Sheriff's Office reports significant decreases in homicides and property crime in 2025, attributing the decline to proactive policing strategies and increased on-view arrests.
King County Sheriff’s Office deputies are pictured at the scene of a reported double shooting at an apartment complex in Skyway. Crime in King County dropped sharply in 2025 compared with the year before, according to new numbers from the King County Sheriff’s Office crime analysis unit.
The most notable decreases were in homicides, down by almost 19%, including investigations by the Major Crimes Unit and the Major Accident Response and Reconstruction Unit. Property crime, including auto theft, was down by almost 50%, which the Sheriff’s Office said equates to 1,200 fewer victims than the year before. The Sheriff’s Office attributed the decline in part to more proactive police patrols and focusing limited resources on areas where crime is most prevalent. The agency also reported an increase in “onviews,” or arrests made when a deputy sees a crime happening in real time rather than responding to a 911 call. Onviews increased by 600, and since 2021, the Sheriff’s Office said it has increased onview activity by 14% as part of an effort to empower deputies to make contacts and arrests when they see a crime in progress. “This is nothing short of the incredible work done by both our commissioned and professional staff, spanning across the unincorporated areas and contracts we serve,” King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall said. “Results like these are what happen when everyone in the agency comes together with the same priority and goal: reducing crime and the fear of crime. We are thoughtful and strategic as to where we assign our deputies, with the belief that a highly visible police presence will continue to deter criminal behavior. These numbers show what we’re doing is working.”The Sheriff’s Office also reported recovering more than 2,800 guns, an increase of 91 from the previous year. That total included 52 seized specifically by the Gun Violence Reduction Unit, which the agency described as a team committed to removing illegal firearms from the streets and addressing gun violence in the community. Some of those guns were recovered in the Southwest Precinct, which received $100,000 in overtime funding for an anti-crime emphasis patrol approved last year by the King County Council when Executive Girmay Zahilay served as president of the council. “Every resident in King County deserves to be and feel safe,” Zahilay said. “Our public safety investments, both law enforcement specific and upstream interventions, are helping us address instances of crime, take guns off the street, improve safety for transit riders, and foster safe environments for everyone. Community has been clear on the public safety improvements they want to see, and we are fully committed to continuing our progress in making King County a safe place to live, work, and explore.”Launched in May of 2024, the program focuses on targeted work to make transit safer on buses, trains, bus stops, and train platforms. In less than two years, deputies have made 280 arrests across the key transit corridor in downtown Seattle. Metro Transit and Sound Transit both contract with the Sheriff’s Office for police services. Other reported decreases included aggravated assaults, down 22%; commercial burglaries, down 47% ; larceny offenses, down 21%; and robberies, down by almost 40%.“Though this data is encouraging and trending in the right direction, it in no way means we are taking our foot off the gas,” Cole-Tindall said. “In 2026, we are focused on decreasing these numbers even more.”Authorities discovered over 1,000 pounds of meth, worth around $25 million, hidden in a 62-year-old man's tractor trailer.Washington lawmakers debate millionaires tax overnight as session deadline nears Washington lawmakers worked into Tuesday morning after an overnight session in Olympia, still debating the so-called millionaires tax.Motorized bikes, electric scooters causing damage in Auburn public parks, police say The misuse of electric bikes and scooters is causing significant damage to city parks, as riders take the motorized vehicles off designated paths and across gra
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