Seattle’s newly elected mayor is under increasing pressure regarding her public safety strategy after an internal police communication revealed a preference for directing most drug possession and public use cases towards diversion programs rather than pursuing legal action. This revelation has sparked criticism from those who argue the policy may inadvertently condone visible drug use throughout the city.

The debate intensified following a memo from Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, which outlined the handling of minor drug offenses set for 2026 and raised concerns that the city’s enforcement stance might be softening within weeks of Mayor Katie Wilson taking office. While city officials maintain that there’s been no shift in policy, skeptics believe the implications suggest otherwise.

According to the internal memo acquired by Fox News Digital, Barnes indicated that “all charges related to drug possession and/or drug use will be diverted from prosecution to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program,” as instructed by the City Attorney’s Office. This protocol targets user-level cases, whereas drug traffickers and those not eligible for LEAD will continue to face legal proceedings.

Barnes made it clear that officers are still obliged to detain individuals if there is probable cause, especially when drug use is happening openly.

In downtown Seattle on March 24, 2022, a member of the Metropolitan Improvement District Downtown Ambassadors was seen cleaning near Seattle Police Department officers patrolling Third Avenue.  (David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Seattle Police pushed back on claims that enforcement is changing, telling Fox News Digital that officers will continue to make drug-related arrests and that SPD policy remains unchanged.

The department said prosecutors, not police, determine whether cases move forward, adding that officers can coordinate with prosecutors to pursue traditional prosecution in cases where diversion is deemed ineffective.

SPD also pointed to staffing gains and declining crime rates, noting the department added 165 officers in 2025 and saw reductions in both violent and property crime.

New Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is facing backlash over the police memo. (Katie Wilson for Seattle)

Mayor Katie Wilson rejected claims that her administration has shifted drug enforcement policy.

“There has been no policy change,” Wilson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “You’ll know when I announce a policy change, because I’ll announce a policy change.”

Wilson said she remains committed to enforcing the city’s public use and possession ordinance in “priority situations” while expanding diversion programs like LEAD in neighborhood hot spots, stressing urgency, resources and measurable results.

Seattle and San Francisco have adopted new policies regarding distributing clean drug supplies.  (Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images; Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Despite those assurances, critics remain unconvinced.

In an opinion piece published by Seattle Red, conservative radio host and Seattle commentator Jason Rantz argued that diverting most drug use and possession cases away from prosecution undermines accountability, regardless of how city officials describe the policy. Rantz said that when arrests are not followed by prosecution, the message to offenders is that public drug use carries few real consequences.

Criticism has also come from within law enforcement.

Andrea Suarez dismantles a tent as garbage lies piled at a homeless encampment on March 13, 2022, in Seattle, Washington.  (John Moore/Getty Images)

Speaking to Rantz on his radio show, Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan sharply criticized the approach outlined in the internal police email, warning it puts public safety at risk and sends the wrong message about open drug use.

Solan told Rantz that diverting most drug use cases away from prosecution is dangerous and reflects what he described as a naïve political approach to addiction. He warned the strategy could lead to increased crime and overdose deaths, referring to the philosophy behind it as “suicidal empathy.”

Solan also said many officers are skeptical of the LEAD program, telling Rantz that some avoid making LEAD referrals altogether because they believe the program is ineffective and driven more by ideology than accountability.

“The recent naive, ignorant political decision to not arrest offenders for open drug use in the City of Seattle is horrifically dangerous and will create more death and societal decay,” Solan told Rantz. “It embodies an enormous flaw in those in our community who think that meeting people where they are who are in the throes of addiction, is the correct path to lift them up.”

Similar concerns were raised by outreach groups.

Residents of a homeless encampment walk through the encampment after smoking fentanyl on March 11, 2022, in Seattle, Washington. (John Moore/Getty Images)

According to MyNorthwest, Andrea Suarez, executive director of the nonprofit We Heart Seattle, warned that allowing open drug use in public spaces enables addiction and accelerates harm. Suarez argued that enforcement plays a critical role in pushing people toward treatment and said diversion-based approaches without consequences fail to meaningfully disrupt drug use.

City officials, however, maintain that enforcement remains in place. Seattle Police say officers will continue to make arrests when probable cause exists, while Wilson insists there has been no policy change and that the city is focused on enforcing drug laws in “priority situations” while expanding diversion efforts in high-impact areas.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.