Roger Goodman — Addressed as Chair Goodman at the start of Richard Hahn's testimony.
Roger Goodman — Interrupted to ask what clearance rates mean and whether they refer to arrest or conviction.
Roger Goodman — Addressed directly as Chair Goodman.
Jeff — Jeff is referenced as someone who will testify next.
Jeff Asher — Jeff Asher is identified as the next witness who will come in to testify.
Jeff Asher — Marshall Clement briefly noted that he wanted to ensure there was time for Jeff Asher, and then indicated that more recent data from Asher would be presented shortly.
Jeff Asher — Jeff Asher was introduced as a remote witness from New Orleans and described his Real Time Crime Index and its 45-day reporting lag. He then answered questions about whether the sample is large enough to reflect national trends, explaining that the database is continuously updated and still useful despite imperfect timeliness. Asher reported that national crime trends are improving: murder is down 19.8% so far in 2025, violent crime is down about 10–11%, and property crime is also down, driven in part by a sharp decline in motor vehicle thefts. He then focused on Washington State, saying its sample of seven agencies shows similar patterns to the national data, though the sample is relatively small and heavily influenced by Seattle. In Washington, he described substantial declines in murder and violent crime, with violent crime down about 9% and murder down about 41% in the sample, suggesting crime is returning toward pre-pandemic or even 2019 levels. He concluded that the current national murder decline is unusually large—possibly the fastest on record—and thanked the committee before the discussion moved on.
Jeff Asher — Jeff Asher discusses police staffing trends, focusing on Seattle and New Orleans. He explains that both departments lost significant numbers of officers after the pandemic, with Seattle down sharply from 2019 levels and only partially recovering in 2025. He says these staffing losses have led to much longer response times, lower trust, and reduced clearance rates. Asher also notes that Seattle and other agencies spent heavily on recruitment and retention bonuses, but argues those efforts have had limited success and questions whether they are the most efficient and cost-effective way to provide public safety. He closes by citing Seattle’s response times rising dramatically from about 40 minutes in 2019 to about 78 minutes in 2024.
Adam — The prior presenter is thanked for the broad overview and then stops sharing.
Adam — Marshall Clement referenced Adam as one of the prior presenters whose points he was summarizing.
Adam — Referenced as part of the earlier presentation on crime numbers.
James McMahon — James McMahon, policy director with the Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, is introduced and then presents the Crime in Washington 2024 report. He explains the report’s framing and responds to a question about why it uses 2024 data, noting a net gain in officers.
Marshall Clement — Introduced as the next in-person presenter and identified as the director of the Council of State Governments' Justice Center.
Marshall Clement — Marshall Clement is introduced as the upcoming witness, with a brief aside that he had been speaking with the speaker beforehand about juvenile data and a quick snapshot. The committee then turns to him for testimony, and he introduces himself as the director of the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center, noting he will be brief to leave time for Jeff Asher.
Marshall Clement — Noted as someone who will testify in person again later.
Marshall Clement — Introduced as the next speaker to provide perspective on clearance and solve rates.
Mary Fosse — The speaker said they discussed the issue with Representative Mary Fosse after last year’s presentation and later dug into it together, but did not find much that would lead to policy consideration.
Dan Griffey — Identified as being particularly interested in retail theft.
Dan Griffey — The speaker referenced a prior conversation with Representative Griffey about retail theft.
Darya Farivar — Asked about the murder-rate slide and noted interest in the statistics.
Darya Farivar — Representative Darya Farivar responded to the discussion on murder-rate trends by expressing appreciation for the update and asking follow-up questions to better understand whether murder rates are dropping faster than before and when the state has previously come close to a decline at this rate, directing the question to the panelists.
Lauren Davis — Representative Lauren Davis asked about an apparent outlier in the juvenile crime data that was not shown on the slide. Later, the speaker referred back to Davis’s question while explaining the limits of the data, continuing the same discussion thread.
Jenny Graham — The Chair recognized Ranking Member Representative Jenny Graham, who asked whether any system tracks the causes or common denominators behind domestic violence.
Brian Burnett — The Chair recognized Representative Brian Burnett, who then asked whether property-crime data may be affected by underreporting due to agency reporting practices and private-sector policy changes.
James — James was thanked for his presentation explaining that unreported crimes are not captured in the data. He was then referenced again as one of the prior presenters whose points were being summarized, and later cited for the point that offending data is limited to arrest data only. Overall, the discussion centered on the limitations and incompleteness of available crime/offending data.
Richard Hahn — Richard Hahn, a senior researcher at the Niskanen Center, testified about evidence-based responses to crime. He argued that public concern about disorder and neighborhood conditions should be taken seriously, and that investments in environmental design—such as cleaning vacant lots, improving lighting, and maintaining public spaces—can reduce nuisance crime and support safety. He emphasized that neighborhood investment and policing are complements, not substitutes, and noted police staffing challenges. Hahn then highlighted hotspots policing as an effective way to do more with less, before shifting to low crime clearance rates. He explained that clearance generally means arrest, and argued that improving investigative capacity through stronger units, targeted hiring, specialized training, technology, forensic resources, and reducing rape kit backlogs can deter crime, build trust, and prevent future crime waves. He concluded by noting bipartisan state efforts to fund improvements in investigative outcomes.
Mark Kropansky — Named as a forthcoming presenter.
Emily Owens — Emily Owens, a UC Irvine professor, was cited for research on environmental design and crime reduction. Her work with colleagues was described as suggesting that police may increase their presence in neighborhoods after they have been improved, which may help explain observed drops in crime.
Aaron Chalfin — University of Pennsylvania professor cited for research showing improved street lighting reduces nighttime crime.
Mark Krupanski — Identified as Hahn's colleague who would discuss hotspots policing in more depth.
Richard — Richard is repeatedly referenced in connection with crime prevention strategy, including the importance of improving investigations and solving crimes, as well as hotspot policing. The discussion builds on his earlier points and treats his contributions as part of a single ongoing theme about effective responses to crime.
Mark Kropanski — Mark Kropanski of Arnold Ventures is introduced as the next witness and welcomed to speak, with the chair noting that he will go further into solve rates and related issues.
Mark Karpanski — Identified himself as Director of Criminal Justice Policy at Arnold Ventures and said he would discuss evidence on what works in policing.
Marshall — Marshall is referenced as someone who will likely address the topic and related points later in the discussion.
Marshall — The speaker concludes with questions about solve rates, reporting, stakeholders, and support for victims and witnesses.
Edwin Obras — Asked whether detectives move back to patrol because overtime compensation is better.
Mark Fallon — Mark Fallon was slated to testify on effective interrogation techniques, but the committee ran out of time. The committee then indicated it would hold a future work session on effective interrogation techniques once the legislative session begins in January, with the possibility of another witness testifying.
Tarra Simmons — Adam Gelb gives a shout-out to Vice Chair Simmons and identifies her as a CCJ member.
Stephanie Kennedy — The speaker credits Stephanie Kennedy with extracting and parsing arrest data by race, sex, and age from OJJDP data.
Roger Goodman — The speaker refers to Chairman Goodman when recalling earlier work on the 1 in 100 report and correctional population data.
Roger Goodman — Addressed as 'Mr. Chairman' during the presentation.
Roger Goodman — Addressed as Mr. Chair.
Roger Goodman — Recognized Representative Farivar and chaired the exchange.
Adam Gelb — Responds to a question about why drug offenses remain low, attributing it to discretion and reporting issues.
Adam Gelb — Introduced as the first witness, presenting for the Council on Criminal Justice.