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Stops and Detentions
Annual Report

2018

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STOPS AND DETENTIONS ANNUAL REPORT

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
This Report focuses on data surrounding police-civilian contacts that involve the stop and limited
detention of an individual. Known as a Terry stop,1 such contact is authorized under law and
policy for purposes of investigating, based on an officer’s reasonable suspicion, whether the
individual is engaging, has engaged, or is about to engage in criminal activity. During the course
of a Terry stop, an officer may develop probable cause to effect an arrest, but probable cause is
not required to make the initial stop, nor does a stop that is based on probable cause to arrest
fall within the category of a Terry stop.
Two introductory notes regarding these data are important. First, the Seattle Police Department
does not use “stop and frisk” as an enforcement tactic. While some may look at officer stops as
a proxy for proactivity, the Department does not view the number of stops as a measure of
proactive policing. Without question, investigative stops, when supported by reasonable
suspicion, are a useful tool to address potential criminal activity, but increasing or even
maintaining the level of stops year to year is not a goal for the department. Other tactics, such
as premises checks, persistent offender arrests, and simply maintaining a uniformed police
presence in heightened emphasis areas, may be considered as effective, if not more so, than stop
and frisk models that have been of questionable value, even where supported by reasonable
suspicion, elsewhere.
Second, while racial/ethnic/gender data are reported, this report is not intended to provide a
root cause analysis into what may appear to be, facially, disparity. As those who study criminal
justice will caution, attempting to identify disparity itself, let alone root cause, from raw numbers
alone is to perilously ignore the myriad social and economic stressors that lead to systemic
inequality at stages far before individual victims, witnesses, or suspects ever reach the attention
of the police. On a separate track, the Department continues to work with researchers from
Northeastern University to develop a methodology for examining racial disparity in SPD’s data
that may help to isolate, and thus mitigate, root causal factors that contribute to disparity
throughout the criminal justice system, with respect to both victims and offenders.2 SPD will
separately report out on that methodology, findings, and continuing efforts around youth

1

In Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), the United States Supreme Court held that such brief detentions are authorized
under the Fourth Amendment when, under the totality of circumstances, an officer has reasonable suspicion to
believe that criminal activity is afoot.
2

Data regarding Firearm Violence from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – Crime Strategies Unit show,
for example, that while people of color make up approximately 29% of King County’s population, they accounted for
83% of the 240 shooting victims in 2017, and 85% of defendants charged by KCPAO in 2017 with murder or
manslaughter charges arising from firearms related crimes.

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engagement, partnerships in initiatives around justice reform, and continued bias awareness
training to address underlying causes of disparity, but for purposes of this report, limits the
presentation to descriptive statistics.
In 2015, the Seattle Police Department introduced a new computerized template that allows it
to capture, as part of its Records Management System, fielded and narrative data around Terry
stops, including metrics that capture the officer’s status (on duty or off duty, CIT-certified, years
of service), the date, time, and location of the stop, and the duration of the stop. Based on these
templates, in last year’s report, released in May 2017, the Department released statistics
concerning a total of 13,114 Terry stops conducted between July 1, 2015 and January 31, 2017 –
a time period selected to capture as robust a sample as practical for purposes of the inaugural
report. Although stops conducted in January 2017 were also included in last year’s report, the
Department reports here on all 7,231 Terry stops conducted during 2017 in the interest of moving
into reporting periods that are aligned with the calendar year.
The Department is also (1) releasing to the City of Seattle’s open data portal the raw data
underlying this report, and (2) adding to the Department’s website a public facing dashboard
through which users may navigate, parse, and analyze these data. The Department encourages
readers to access the dashboard, and accompanying packaged data set, in conjunction with
viewing this report. For purposes of orientation, a screenshot of the landing page of this
dashboard, showing the aggregate data presented in this report, is presented in Figure 1.
This dashboard supplements previously released dashboards concerning, in addition to crime
data, use of force and crisis intervention. With the intent to familiarize readers to this dashboard,
this report tracks and displays analyses conducted through the dashboard, but also, to the extent
that the reader may be interested in analyses that are not presented here, the Department
encourages active exploration of its data through this site.

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FIGURE 1: LANDING PAGE FOR STOPS AND DETENTIONS DASHBOARD

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A. Policies and Overview
The Seattle Police Department’s policies regarding arrests, search, and seizure are published,
collectively, as Title 6 of the SPD Manual. Policy requirements for conducting and documenting
Terry Stops specifically are prescribed in Section 6.220.
Section 6.220 distinguishes between police-civilian contacts depending on the nature of the
encounter and whether the stop constitutes a seizure under law; as articulated in Section 6.220,
A seizure occurs any time an officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some
way restrained the liberty of a citizen. A seizure may also occur if an officer uses words, actions,
or demeanor that would make a reasonable person believe that he or she is not free to go.
Voluntary Contacts falls within two categories. A social contact is a voluntary, consensual
encounter between the police and a subject with the intent of engaging in casual and/or noninvestigative conversation. The subject is free to leave and/or decline any of the officer’s
requests at any point. A non-custodial interview is a voluntary and consensual investigatory
interview that an officer conducts with a subject during which the subject is free to leave and/or
decline any of the officer’s requests. Neither a social contact nor a non-custodial interview is a
seizure, and during contacts of these types, officers may not use words, action, demeanor, or
other show of authority that would indicate that a person is not free to leave.
A Terry stop is a seizure under both state and federal law. A Terry stop is defined in policy as
A brief, minimally intrusive seizure of a subject based upon articulable reasonable
suspicion in order to investigate possible criminal activity. The stop can apply to people
as well as to vehicles. The subject of a Terry stop is not free to leave.
Reasonable suspicion requires
Specific, objective, articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences, would
create a well-founded suspicion that there is a substantial possibility that a subject has
engaged, is engaging or is about to engage in criminal conduct.
The reasonableness of the Terry stop is considered in view of the totality of the circumstances,
the officer’s training and experience, and what the officer knew before the stop. Information
learned during a stop can lead to additional reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a crime
has occurred, but cannot provide the justification for the original stop.
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An officer may frisk, or pat-down, the subject of a Terry stop when, under the totality of the
circumstances and reasonable conclusions drawn from the officer’s training and experience, the
officer has reasonable suspicion that the subject may be armed and presently dangerous. A frisk
is strictly limited to a search (generally a pat-down of outer clothing) necessary to the discovery
of weapons that may be used to harm the officer or others nearby.
Manual Section 6.220 requires supervisors to review, by end of shift, their officers’
documentation around Terry stops to determine whether the stops were supported by
reasonable suspicion and consistent with SPD policy, federal and state law. If a supervisor
concludes that a Terry stop appears to be inconsistent with SPD policy, the supervisor is required
to address the concern with the officer involved and take action as may be appropriate, which
may include a referral to the Office of Police Accountability.3
This report examines Terry stops by Seattle police officers over the 2017 calendar year. All data
utilized in this Section was sourced from the Department’s recently-implemented Data Analytics
Platform (DAP),4 can be accessed in raw form through the City’s open data portal, and again, may
be explored in interactive format here.

3

OPA reports that in 2017, it investigated 25 individual cases that contained at least one allegation concerning a
failure to adequately document a Terry stop or to articulate reasonable suspicion; of these 25 allegations, OPA reports
that two resulted in a sustained finding against the involved officers.
4

The DAP is a comprehensive enterprise-wide platform that consolidates data from multiple unique source systems,
enabling SPD to manage and analyze up-to-date data relating to police calls and incidents, civilian interactions, useof-force incidents, administrative processes, and officer training, replacing a long extensive process that existed prior
to DAP’s integration. The DAP includes an ad-hoc reporting tool and advanced analytic capabilities that allow for the
creation of reports and dashboards for one-time reporting or continuous, real-time monitoring of subject areas
viewable by precinct, organizational unit, assignment, and chain of command. The DAP allows supervisors,
commanders, and Command Staff to utilize these reports and dashboards to make data-driven decisions based on
analytic insights and to highlight issues of concern that may warrant deeper review.

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B. General Statistics
As shown in Figure 1, between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, a total of 7,231 Terry
Stops were reported by 682 officers, involving 6,158 unique subjects.5
In the aggregate, across these 7,231 stops,
•
•
•
•

•

•
•

A majority (36%) occurred in the North Precinct (Seattle’s largest precinct).6
A majority (38.5%) were reported during 3rd Watch hours (1900-0400 hours).
The overwhelming majority of subjects were perceived as male (77.2%).
White males accounted for 39.17% of total stops; white females accounted for 12.29%.
Black males accounted for 25% of total stops; black females accounted for 5.3%.
Latino/Hispanic males and females accounted for 5.4% and 2.9%, respectively, of all stops.
The overwhelming majority of subjects were perceived to be between 18-45 years of age
(75.5%), with subjects perceived to be between 26-35 years of age representing the
largest percent.
23.1% of all stops (n=1,667) resulted in an arrest; 73.7% were resolved with either a
General Offense report or Street Check without arrest.
Officers conducted a weapons frisk of subjects in 1,573 (21.8%) of all stops; in 393
(approximately 25%) of these instances, a weapon was recovered.

These statistics are discussed in greater detail, below.
As shown in Figure 1, the largest percentage of total stops (36%) were reported in the North
Precinct.7 Figure 2 shows a breakdown of the aggregate data specific to this precinct; in summary,
215 officers contacted 1,476 distinct subjects across a total of 1,655 incidents, the majority
(approximately 45% occurring during 3rd Watch hours). Across these 1,655 incidents, white males
accounted for approximately 50% of the 1,476 subjects stopped; white females accounted for
5

Unless indicated otherwise, data for this report was accessed on the 6th of March, 2018. Counts will vary within a
narrow margin as records process through the transcription queue, a manual processing and review function of the
Department’s current records management system administration.
6

For context, in 2017, North Precinct accounted for 25.3% of all dispatches; West accounted for 28.5%, South
accounted for 17.8%, East for 16%, and Southwest for 11%.
7

Geographic location of reporting may be distinct from the geographic area to which an officer is administratively
assigned. It should be noted that approximately 36% of stops could not be “geolocated” and are thus not considered
when filtering by precinct, sector or beat. Statistics cited by geographic precinct are based on confirmed addresses
and represent approximately 64% of all stops reported in 2017. This is a data quality issue that will be remedied by
the Department’s new Records Management System, which the Department expects to be fully implemented by Q1
2019.

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just under 20%. Black males accounted for 21% of all stops; black females accounted for 4.5%.
The frisk rate of subjects in the North Precinct was consistent with the City-wide rate; the rate of
weapon recovery (27% of frisks, 6.2% of stops overall) was slightly higher. The arrest rate
(approximately 33%) was substantially higher than the City-wide average. Consistent with Citywide aggregate data, the highest percentage of individuals stopped in the North Precinct were
perceived to be between the ages of 26-35 years of age.
FIGURE 2: BREAKDOWN OF STOPS IN NORTH PRECINCT8

8

Figures provided in this report are screenshots of the dashboard that the reader can access, and navigate for
themselves, at https://www.seattle.gov/police/information-and-data/terry-stops/terry-stops-dashboard. Online, the
demographic breakdown can be reviewed by hovering over the different sections of the chart; across all dashboards,
the darker aqua represents White; the lighter aqua represents Latino; red represents Black; blue represents Asian; and
yellow represents multi-racial.

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The Southwest Precinct, the data for which are shown in Figure 3, reported the fewest numbers
of stops in 2017, accounting for 11% of the total. Although just 507 of the 7,231 stops reported
were located in this area, the demographics closely reflect that of North Precinct stops and
citywide representations, with the exception of the perceived age of the subject, which tended
to skew younger than the citywide distribution.
FIGURE 3: BREAKDOWN OF STOPS IN SOUTHWEST PRECINCT

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Relative to the City-wide numbers, stops reported in the Southwest Precinct tended to occur
more frequently during 2nd Watch hours (between 1100 and 1900 hours); subject perceived age
tended to skew lower as well.
In the West Precinct, the data for which is shown in Figure 4, stops were fairly evenly distributed
across the three watches. Of the five precincts, West reported the highest rate of arrests; the
frisk rate across West Precinct stops was consistent with the City-wide average, but the
percentage of those frisks resulting in a weapon recovery (38%, or 8.1% of overall stops) was
higher than in other precincts.
FIGURE 4: BREAKDOWN OF STOPS IN WEST PRECINCT

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The aggregate data for East and South Precincts is presented in Figures 5 and 6.
FIGURE 5: BREAKDOWN OF STOPS IN EAST PRECINCT

Consistent with the City-wide data, stops in the East Precinct were clustered over 3 rd Watch
hours; the majority of involved subjects were perceived to be between 26-35 years of age. The
percentage of stops in the East Precinct resolving in an arrest (35.5%) was only slightly lower than
in West, but substantially higher than the City-wide rate.
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FIGURE 6: BREAKDOWN OF STOPS IN SOUTH PRECINCT

As was seen in the Southwest Precinct, the perceived age of subjects of stops in the South
Precinct skewed lower than in the City-wide aggregate data. The frisk rate for subjects in the
South Precinct was nearly double that seen in other precincts – a point that is discussed later in
this report.

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C. Stops by Functional and Administrative Assignment
FIGURE 7: BREAKDOWN OF STOPS BY FUNCTIONAL ASSIGNMENT
Figure 7 shows a breakdown of Terry stops, frisk rates,
and arrest rates by functional assignment, categorized
for purposes of this analysis as either 911 Response,
Beats, or Anti-Crime Team or other proactive activity
(ACT/Proact). 911 Response officers are those assigned
to regular district vehicles with primary responsibility to
respond to calls for service and a secondary
responsibility to patrol their assigned sectors for
criminal activity or traffic violations and participate in
dedicated anti-crime and community engagement
duties. Beats comprises those officers assigned to
bicycle and foot patrols. ACT/Proact officers are
assigned to target specific criminal activity, as directed
by precinct commanders depending on the needs of
that precinct (e.g., narcotics enforcement, warrant
service, etc.), with the secondary responsibility to
respond to high priority calls for service, such as inprogress and violent crimes.
911 responders reported 84.8% of all stops in 2017. The
remaining 15.2% of stops were distributed among officers conducting bicycle and foot patrol
operations (7.3%), Anti-Crime Team (ACT) and Proactive Squad units (2.9%) and all other units
including investigative units and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit (5% cumulative).
While all officers may be routinely called into uniformed service, and thus be in a position to
conduct a stop or detention (for example, during special events/crowd management situations),
an officer’s administrative assignment refers to the Bureau to which that officer reports
(Operations, Special Operations, Professional Standards, Homeland Security, or Investigations).
Of note, student officers, who are generally functionally assigned to Patrol, are administratively
assigned to Professional Standards, which includes the Field Training Unit. In 2017, 99% (n =
7,159) of all Terry Stops were reported by officers administratively assigned to either the
Operations Bureau (86%) or the Professional Standards Bureau (13%).

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FIGURE 8: STOPS BY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENT

Figure 8 shows the distribution of stops across the administrative assignment of the officer,
displayed by count, percent change over 2016 numbers, and rate of Terry stops. Approximately
half of all Terry Stops were reported by officers assigned to either the North (29.3%) or the West
(19.8%) precincts. South (13%) and East Precincts (12.8%) reported just over 25% of stops, with
the remaining 10.9%, reported by officers assigned to the Southwest Precinct. Officers assigned
to field training (Professional Standards Bureau), accounted for a further 13% of reported Terry
Stops.
While reporting remained relatively stable when comparing 2016 to 2017 (-3%), the Southwest
and West precincts saw the largest changes in reporting. Reporting in the Southwest Precinct
increased 31.6% in 2017, while the West Precinct saw a near proportional decline (-29.8%) over
the same period. The East Precinct and the Field Training Unit observed modest increases in
reporting (13.1% and 8.9% respectively), while the South Precinct noted a -6.9% decline. Reports
of Terry Stops in the North Precinct remained relatively stable with a 1.6% increase noted in 2017.

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When viewed as a workload normalized measure, a comparison of the Terry Stop Rate9 lends
context to the analysis. While reporting was up in the Southwest Precinct, the Terry Stop Rate,
calculated as the number of stops reported for every 10k dispatches responded to by officers in
that area, declined by 12.3%, to 86 per 10k dispatches, suggesting other workload factors (such
as number of calls dispatched/onviewed) may be driving the count.
As noted above, while the count of stops remained relatively stable in the North Precinct (+1.6%),
the Terry Stop Rate declined by 5.5%. Additionally, when viewed as a rate, Terry Stop activity
declined by 11% in the South Precinct, to 68 per 10k dispatches.
The Seattle Police Department has been in the process of hiring and training 200 more officers.
The number of new officers coming into a functional Patrol assignment likely accounts for the
apparent 8.9% increase in reporting by Professional Standards (Field Training Unit). However,
when viewed as Terry Stop Rate, this 8.9% increase in number of stops is reduced to a modest
2.4% rise in activity, at a relatively stable rate of 209 per 10k dispatches.10

D. Stops by Dispatch Type
Officers are logged to calls either by a dispatcher (e.g., in response to a 911 call or complaint from
a member of the community) or by on-viewing an incident (e.g., observing or being alerted to
behaviors that may indicate criminal activity while on patrol). Events are initially categorized by
response priority and type based on the initial information provided to a dispatcher by a 911
caller or, in the case of on-viewed incidents, the officer (initial call type); based on updated or
more complete information obtained during the call, the event may be reclassified upon closing
(final call type).11

9 The Terry Stop Rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported stops by the number of officer dispatches and
multiplying by 10,000. A “dispatch” is counted whenever an officer responding to unique calls. In 2017, the Seattle
Police Department recorded more than 800,000 dispatches, to approximately 400,000 calls.
10 While the Terry Stop Rate fluctuates between 66 per 10k dispatches (West Precinct) and 99 per 10k dispatches
(North Precinct) in the precincts, officers in field training are deliberately exposed to an accelerated operational tempo
to assure they are adequately exposed to a variety of training opportunities and are observed with a Terry Stop Rate
nearly twice (209 per 10k dispatches) the next most active group of officers (North Precinct).
11

It is often the case that the call received from a community member via the 911 system is different from the final
call description after an officer conducts their initial investigation. For example, a resident may hear loud noises and
call the police fearing that shots are being fired in their neighborhood but upon investigation by the responding officer
it turns out that some residents are lighting fireworks. In the case the 911 call would be categorized as “shots fired”
but closed by the officer as “disturbance.”

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Of the 63.6% of Terry Stops that could be associated with a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)
Event,12 three quarters (75.7% / 48.1% of all reported stops) were the result of a Call for Service
where an officer was dispatched to the event. Just under 25% of the remaining associated Terry
Stops (15.5% of all reported stops) were the result of officer-initiated activity.
FIGURE 9: STOPS BY INITIAL AND FINAL CALL TYPES (DISPATCHED AND ON-VIEWED)

A breakdown of stops by initial and final call types, across both dispatched and on-viewed
incidents, is displayed in Figure 9. Of the 128 initial call types represented in 2017 data, 27 of
those call types were represented more than 1% of the time, totaling 82.7% of all associated

12

As noted earlier, this data quality issue will be remedied through implementation of the Department’s new Records
Management System in Q1 2019.

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stops. Five call types were represented more than 5% of the time for both initial and final call
types, as shown in Tables 1(a) and (b).

TABLE 1(a)

TABLE 1(b)

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Figure 10 reflects a breakdown of initial (a) and final (b) call types across stops that were paired
to CAD Events to which an officer was dispatched in response to a specific call for service. Within
this larger subset, five initial call types were represented in more than 5% of incidents: Suspicious
Person, Vehicle, or Incident (9.0%), Disturbance (8%), Assault (7.7%), Trespass (6.5%), and Theft
(5.6%). Four final call types were represented in more than 5% of incidents: Prowler/Trespass
(10.1%), Suspicious Circumstances/Person (9.6%), Disturbance (9.5%), and Assault (8.0%).
FIGURE 10: STOPS BY INITIAL AND FINAL CALL TYPE (DISPATCH ONLY)

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Figure 11 reflects a breakdown of initial and final call types across stops that were paired to CAD
Events associated with on-viewed incidents. Within this smaller subset, more than half (52.9%)
were initially classified as either Suspicious Stop (33.7%), Suspicious Person, Vehicle or Incident
(11.8%), or Traffic Stop (7.4%). Highest-frequency final call types within this subset were
Suspicious Circumstances/Suspicious Person (13.2%), Felony Warrant Service (12.4%), Narcotics
(8.0%), Misdemeanor Warrant Service (6.3%), and Prowler/Trespass (5.3%). Note: Complete
labeling of categories can be viewed through the online dashboard by hovering over each square.
FIGURE 11: STOPS BY INITIAL AND FINAL CALL TYPE (ON-VIEW ONLY)

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E. Frisk & Arrest
An officer may frisk, or pat-down, the subject of a Terry stop when, under the totality of the
circumstances and reasonable conclusions drawn from the officer’s training and experience, the
officer has reasonable suspicion that the subject may be armed and presently dangerous.
Data concerning stops in which officers conducted a weapons frisk are presented in Figure 12.
FIGURE 12: STOPS INVOLVING A WEAPONS FRISK

Overall, 460 officers conducted a weapons frisk of a
total of 1,573 subjects in 1,307 separate incidents –
slightly more than one-fifth (21.8%) of the 7,231
Terry stops conducted in 2017. Of these, nearly
one-third were reported in the North Precinct;
slightly more than one-quarter were reported in the
South Precinct. More than three-quarters of all
frisks were reported during second and third
watches. Perceived demographics of subjects who were frisked, as compared to the
demographics of subjects of stops overall, are shown in Figure 13. While perceived demographics
tended to generally reflect the demographics of all subjects, some differences were noted.13
13

This is a descriptive analysis of the population of data. Statistical significance testing is not appropriate. Any observed
difference is a real and true difference; however, caution should be exercised with inference.

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FIGURE 13: DEMOGRAPHICS OF SUBJECTS OF FRISKS RELATIVE TO OVERALL STOPS
FRISKS

TOTAL STOPS

Subjects perceived to be male tended to be frisked slightly more often (10%) than those subjects
perceived to be female. The proportion of black males who were frisked (36.7%) was observed
slightly higher than their representation across all stops (31.9%); as shown in Figure 14, frisks of
black male subjects tended to be reported most frequently (34.5%, n = 507) in the South Precinct,
and the age distribution tended to skew younger.
FIGURE 14: BREAKDOWN OF FRISKS BY PERCEIVED SUBJECT DEMOGRAPHICS/BLACK MALES

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As shown in Figure 15, frisks of white males tended to be reported most frequently in the North
Precinct (40.8%, n = 610) in the North Precinct, of individuals in a perceived age range of 26-35.
FIGURE 15: BREAKDOWN OF FRISKS BY PERCEIVED SUBJECT DEMOGRAPHICS/WHITE MALES

FIGURE 16: BREAKDOWN OF FRISKS RELATIVE TO OVERALL STOPS, SECTOR LEVEL
FRISKS

TOTAL STOPS
Figure 16 shows a breakdown of stops
involving a weapons frisk relative to stops
overall. In the North Precinct, Nora Sector
accounts for the highest percentage of
both stops overall and stops involving
frisks; in the South Precinct, the frisk rate
is driven predominantly by Sam Sector.

Figures 17 and 18 show a more complete
breakdown of stops in these two sectors,
including rate of weapon recovery and
stop resolution.
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FIGURE 17: WEAPONS FRISK/NORA SECTOR

Within Nora Sector, subjects of frisks were predominantly white males, nearly half of whom were
stopped during third watch hours. Weapons, most commonly lethal cutting instruments, were
recovered from approximately one-quarter of all subjects frisked. Nearly all (90%) of incidents
involving a weapons frisk in Nora Sector were resolved with a General Offense (GO) report; 14 in
43% of cases, the subject was arrested.
14

GO Reports are used to document any response where an offense or violation of law is identified.

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FIGURE 18: WEAPONS FRISK/SAM SECTOR

Within Sam Sector, subjects of frisks were predominantly black males, and stops were reported
most frequently during second watch hours. Weapons were recovered in approximately 17% of
instances; of these, handguns and lethal cutting instruments were recovered at a near-equal
frequency. Most (approximately 95%) of incidents involving a weapons frisk in Sam Sector were
resolved with a General Offense (GO) report; in 39.2% of cases, the subject was arrested.
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FIGURE 19: WEAPONS RECOVERY, CITY-WIDE

Across all precincts, a weapons recovery was reported in a total of 298 incidents, involving 314
subjects; the majority of weapons recovered comprised lethal cutting instruments. As shown in
Figure 19, the frequency of weapon recoveries following frisks were highest in North (33.1%) and
West (27.7%); city-wide, the rate of weapon recoveries following frisks was 20%. Relative to their
representation as a percentage of overall frisks, white males are overrepresented as subjects of
weapons recovery.

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STOPS AND DETENTIONS ANNUAL REPORT
FIGURE 20: WEAPONS RECOVERY, LETHAL CUTTING INSTRUMENTS

Broken down by recovered weapons, more than one-third of all lethal cutting instruments
(35.5%) were recovered in the North Precinct (Figure 20); a near equal percentage (35%) of all
handguns were recovered in the South Precinct (Figure 21).
FIGURE 21: WEAPONS
RECOVERY, HANDGUNS

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FIGURE 22: SHOTS FIRED BY PRECINCT
The concentration of handgun
recovery following frisks of Terry
subjects in the South Precinct is
not inconsistent with gunrelated crime statistics. Figure
22, for example, shows a
breakdown of criminal15 shots
fired reports by precinct over
2017; nearly half of all shots
fired calls were reported in the
South Precinct.

FIGURE 23: SHOTS FIRED, SOUTH PRECINCT, BY SECTOR
When broken down at the
sector level (see Figure 23), most
(62.5%, or 35 of 56 incidents) are
reported in Sam Sector (Sam 1,
2, or 3).

15

I.e., excluding accidental discharges, self-inflicted, and officer-involved shootings.

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STOPS AND DETENTIONS ANNUAL REPORT
FIGURE 24: GUN RELATED CRIMES, BY SECTOR

Similarly, as shown in Figure 24, South Precinct (Sam
Sector) accounts for the highest concentration of gunrelated crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault).

Note: Comprehensive information concerning Seattle’s crime data, including biweekly SeaStat
updates and an interactive dashboard that can be parsed across a broad range of data points,
can be accessed at https://www.seattle.gov/police/information-and-data/crime-dashboard.

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STOPS AND DETENTIONS ANNUAL REPORT
F. Stop Resolution
In almost all instances, Terry stops are resolved with either a GO Report, an arrest (with a GO or
supplemental report) or a Street Check (an observation from the field that does not include a
violation of law but is otherwise of note.
FIGURE 25: STOP RESOLUTION
Figure 25 shows a
breakdown of all 7,231
stops by resolution. Of
the approximately 3%
that resolved other
than by way of a GO
Report, a Street Check,
or an Arrest; just under
2% included a GO for
prosecutorial referral; 0.4% resolved with a citation/infraction. At the sector level, Nora Sector
(North Precinct) accounted for the highest frequency of resolutions involving a GO Report
(12.1%) or a Street Check (13.7%). Nora and Mary sectors accounted for the highest frequency
of arrests. See Figure 26.
FIGURE 26: STOP RESOLUTION BY SECTOR
GO Report
Street Check
35.5% of total, n = 2,591
37.9% of Total, n = 2,737

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SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Arrests
23.1% of total, n = 1,667

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CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
The Seattle Police Department provides this report as part of its ongoing commitment to
transparency and critical review of its operations and activity. As noted throughout, the
Department has published online the data underlying this report, and encourages readers to
download and/or explore the data for themselves through the Department’s interactive
dashboard.
Again, it should be noted that this report is intended to be a descriptive review of the
Department’s Terry stop data; it is not intended to elicit or suggest root causes for any disparities
that may be observed – a highly complex analysis with which social science, as a field, continues
to grapple. Consistent with its obligations to demonstrate sustained compliance with principles
of police reform set in place through the Consent Decree, the Department has engaged several
academic partners to assist the Department in taking a taking a deeper analytical look at
disparities in its data to identify factors that may be driving observed disparities. The Department
will separately report out on these efforts.
Further, as the Department continues to update and synthesize existing and new data systems
and sources, including a new Records Management System scheduled for implementation in Q1
2019, the Department will be positioned to undertake a more sophisticated and rigorous review
of its activity, informed by additional metrics and datasets. The Department looks forward to
working with its City and community partners in so doing.

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