We’ll Come to You: Free Safety Trainings with MID and SPD

Did you know? Downtown businesses and residents have access to free safety and informational training through the Metropolitan Improvement District and Seattle Police Department.

This service is available to all ratepayers and residents within the MID boundaries. MID and SPD representatives will come to your business or residence and explain MID-funded clean, safe and outreach services and also share practical safety tips and channels to contact for non-emergency needs.

The meetings last about an hour and cover:

• Safety ambassador escorts: If you ever feel unsafe walking in downtown, an ambassador can escort you to your destination. Simply call 206-441-3303 from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. to make a request.
• Roles of Safety, Clean and Outreach teams: Our MID-funded ambassadors offer a range of services, from escorts to needle cleanup and homeless outreach.
• De-escalation: Increasingly, we’re seeing the impact of untreated mental health and substance-abuse issues on the streets of downtown. We’ll explain tactics to talk to someone in crisis, reduce conflict and leave a situation when you feel unsafe.
• When to call the MID; when to call the police: Our ambassadors can help with many scenarios, but not all. Don’t be afraid to call 911 because you think a situation might not be an emergency.
• Practical safety tips: Barbara Biondo, Seattle’s crime prevention coordinator, will highlight simple ways to increase your safety – like taking your headphones off for better awareness of your surroundings and using a buddy system. If requested, Biondo will also perform a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design survey to evaluate the safety of your workplace by identifying blind spots, access points and other design issues that can affect safety.
• Street maintenance: The city offers a Find it, Fix it app to report issues like clogged drains, graffiti, potholes and more. For MID ratepayers, there’s an online form to request cleaning services, biohazard and syringe removal, trash removal and more.

If you live downtown or work for a DSA member company, we highly encourage you to take advantage of this free service.

If you’re interested in a training, contact Brian Cannon, senior manager of safety services at brianc@downtownseattle.org, or Blake Sundstrom, safety team program manager, at blakes@downtownseattle.org.