Seattle prosecutors avoid describing criminal groups as gangs, using the term “cliques” instead, according to an official.
Amy Barden, the first chief of Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department, said the terminology caught her off guard during a meeting. She discussed the issue on the Jason Rantz Show.
“Everybody’s talking about ‘cliques,’” Barden recalled. “And I remember I had to lean over and say, ‘What are we… Are we talking about gangs?’”
“And you know, the captain next to me said, ‘Yeah, they’re talking about gangs. We call them cliques.’”
Barden said the word “gang” was avoided during a SeaStat meeting, a regular crime statistics briefing attended by prosecutors and city officials, because some consider the label stigmatizing.
The CARE chief questioned the value of calling the groups “cliques” when the individuals involved refer to themselves as gangs.
“I think it’s well-intentioned. I’m a compassionate person. I don’t like stigmatizing language,” Barden said.
“I also think we need to dwell in reality, and that it slows us down to not just name the problem, try to identify the solutions, and understand with human behavior, you always need incentives and deterrents. There has to be accountability.”
Amy Barden, the first chief of Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department, said on the Jason Rantz Show that gangs were referred to as “cliques” during a meeting involving prosecutors and city attorneys.
Seattle’s dedicated gang unit was disbanded in 2020 as the department shifted its focus toward gun violence. Under former Mayor Bruce Harrell, officials were reportedly reluctant to use the terms “gang” and “gang member,” according to Seattle Red.
Merriam-Webster defines a “clique” as “a narrow exclusive circle or group of persons.”
By contrast, its definition of “gang” is “a group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends especially: a band of antisocial adolescents.”
Asked by the Daily Mail whether King County prosecutors had been instructed to use “cliques” instead of gangs, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said “no.”
The office emphasized that it operates separately from the city of Seattle.
The comments come months after then-Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes repeatedly described gangs as “small groups” following a mass shooting that killed three people.
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Barnes used the phrase several times during a press conference after the July 26 massacre at the Bite of Seattle food festival, a shooting authorities linked to gang violence.
He said investigators were still determining the motive but described the incident as “certainly group activity.”
Appearing to refer to gangs, the police chief said during the press conference: “We have small groups that appear to be at odds with each other.”
“In our city, 0.01 percent of the population is connected to 52 percent of our shootings, most of which are young people,” Barnes said.
According to Seattle Red, officials under former Mayor Bruce Harrell were reluctant to use the terms “gang” and “gang member.”
Seattle’s dedicated gang unit was disbanded in 2020 as the department shifted its approach toward gun violence.
Seattle mayor Katie Wilson has came under scrutiny for her response to a horror mass shooting in her city on July 26 that killed three people and injured at least four others and was suspected to be connected to gang violence
Harrell’s successor, Mayor Katie Wilson, has favored a community-policing approach that prioritizes relationships and problem-solving over strict enforcement.
Wilson came under fire for her response to the mass shooting in July. The shooting unfolded at around 6pm local time, but the city’s response was later scrutinized over delays and problems communicating information to the public.
Wilson has since asked the city’s Office of Inspector General to conduct an independent review of the public information response to the shooting.
She was previously a supporter of efforts to defund the police in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in 2020 but has since said her views have evolved.
According to crime statistics tracker NeighborhoodScout, Seattle residents have a one in 132 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime.
The robbery rate is more than triple the national rate, at 2.16 cases for every 1,000 residents, and there are an average of 446 crimes per square mile in the city.
Seattle has also struggled with a significant homelessness crisis. A Brookings Institution analysis found that unsheltered homelessness in Seattle jumped 88 percent from 2015 through the period it examined.
The Daily Mail has contacted Barden, the Seattle Mayor’s Office, Seattle Police Department, and Seattle City Attorney’s Office for comment.