Dow ConstantineVerified account

We are bringing that mindset to another issue in our community: the number of young people involved in the criminal justice system.

I recently participated in a Peacemaking Circle w/ community members, prosecutors, advocates, & parents whose kids had been in detention.

Everyone agrees that there are kids who have been traumatized and that we have an obligation to protect them and the community.

King County leads the nation in solutions, but there's still more to be done. I pledge to work towards a goal of zero youth incarceration.

We have better, safer, more therapeutic options than detention—but must also prevent earlier conditions in life that lead to detention.

King County is the only major jurisdiction to simultaneously reduce the rate of detention & racial disproportionality. But we must do more.

We're prepared for days-long Peacemaking Circles. We're ready to do the work. But it will take work.

Today, I am announcing a plan for two community-based reception centers that we will call “Safe Spaces.”