On its Feb. 11 newscast, KIRO devoted the first 10 minutes to victimless property crimes. The following evening, KIRO reported five or six businesses burglarized in a small area, an 11-year-old girl terrified in Leavenworth by an apparent thief walking around in the house, and a $6,000 jewelry snatch and dash.

It is claimed that minor drug use leads to hard drug use. Is it reasonable to think that lack of consequences for “victimless crime” leads to more serious victim crime?

Washington emptied the prisons 10 years ago and has taken first place in property crime in the U.S. according to the FBI. King County took the state gold medal.

Gov. Jay Inslee wants to release more of these criminals. King County Executive Dow Constantine doesn’t even want them occupying jail space at all.

In the Auburn Reporter on Feb. 6 (“City’s inmate tally declines at SCORE jail”), Mayor Nancy Backus proudly points to $2 million in cost savings by eliminating municipal court and contracting with King County Superior Court, which uses an alternative “sentencing philosophy.” That philosophy, plus cost savings, smells like more criminals on the street to me.

How much do these criminals prowling the city, stealing from us non-victims, cost us when replacing stolen property and in violated security? How much does it boost our insurance rates? How much do thieves increase sales tax revenues for the City and state when we replace property?

Is Auburn going for the gold in the King County property crime competition?

– Bob Zimmerman