Tacoma: City Council Adopts Community Safety Action Strategy Built on Community Input
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On December 16, the City Council adopted a Community Safety Action Strategy developed by the City of Tacoma's Center for Strategic Priorities. The strategy will guide the City's comprehensive, long-term approach to improving safety—and perceptions of safety—for all community members.

The strategy goes beyond traditional policing and enforcement, identifying the many factors that impact how safe people feel and outlining how the City can work to address them. It organizes City actions around four key goals, with objectives and actions for the near and long term.

A cornerstone of the strategy is its foundation in significant community input, developed through visioning workshops, community meetings, interactive art, and interviews with individuals who have shared their lived experiences. This collaborative process resulted in a broad, community-developed definition of safety organized around four key goals: safe PLACES, supporting PEOPLE, effective RESPONSE, and community REPAIR.
  • Safe PLACES and NeighborhoodsThis goal focuses on supporting environmental conditions that make Tacoma neighborhoods feel safe for everyone. Near-term actions include using every transportation project as an opportunity to improve safety, equitably distributing lighting, and keeping the city clean through focused waste management. Long-term, the City will plan strong, vibrant neighborhoods by incorporating development practices that prioritize safety and connection.
  • PEOPLE Receive the Right Services at the Right TimeThis goal supports focused approaches for individuals with specific needs. Actions include helping people access behavioral health support, connecting people with shelter and services, and supporting youth with services and resources to reduce violence.
  • Effective RESPONSE with Respect and CareThis goal is focused on responding effectively to all community safety needs with respect and care. While it includes actions to provide effective response to violent crime, property crime, and medical and fire emergencies, it also strongly emphasizes providing alternative responses to connect people to the right services. This goal also prioritizes police transparency and accountability through the continued use of body and dash cams and the implementation of other recommendations
  • Promote Healing and REPAIRThis goal focuses on supporting individuals, families, and neighborhoods to overcome trauma and rebuild relationships. Key actions include enhancing police community engagement through positive, non-enforcement events, creating spaces for dialogue between the community and police, and supporting the mental and physical health of City personnel who assist during emergencies.

Details on the Community Safety Action Strategy are available here.

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Quotes from Mayor and Council

Mayor Victoria Woodards

"Our Community Safety Action Strategy is grounded in the simple belief that safety is about more than reacting to harm, it's about preventing it. True safety means stable housing, access to mental and behavioral health resources, pathways to employment, and neighborhoods designed for connection. By approaching safety holistically, we strengthen the foundation of our city and create the conditions where every person feels a sense of belonging and security. This strategy gives us the tools to act with clarity and compassion and to build a safer and healthier Tacoma."

Deputy Mayor Kiara Daniels

"I love our city so much and I am proud that we are embracing a broader understanding of how to cultivate a safe community. Our first responders play a vital role in keeping the public safe, but we cannot rely only on their heroic efforts alone. We need to ensure community members have access to a wide range of services to help them achieve their potential, and we need to recognize that we cannot curtail violence without helping individuals and families overcome past trauma and rebuild their relationships. This holistic approach to community safety will make the future brighter for everyone in Tacoma."

District 1 Council Member John Hines

"Ensuring our community members feel safe and welcome in Tacoma continues to be my top priority. I am pleased with the steps we have taken this year to rethink and expand our approach to public safety. From investing in core public safety services in our police and fire departments to examining ways to approach safety through alternative response and community engagement, adopting this groundbreaking Community Safety Action Strategy continues to focus our resources on the issues we hear the most from our community. As we embrace this new approach to public safety, I plan to continue to stay focused on ensuring it translates into real actions that improve the lives of our residents."

District 2 Council Member Sarah Rumbaugh

"This Community Safety Action Strategy recognizes that safety is about much more than policing. It's about the everyday infrastructure that shapes how we experience our neighborhoods—from lighting and sidewalks to walkability and clean streets. When you're out walking your dog or picking up litter, you feel the difference these investments make. This plan embraces that broader vision of safety by focusing on the environments where people live, work, and connect."

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District 3 Council Member Jamika Scott

"When I think about places where the public feels safe, I think about communities that have civic pride and neighborhoods where people feel welcome. Our new Community Safety Action Strategy helps us better understand what kinds of actions we can take to foster these sentiments. I am especially interested in actions that improve our urban landscape to enhance perceptions of safety and how we can better provide services that nurture healing for community members to help break the cycle of abuse and harm."

District 4 Council Member Sandesh Sadalge

"The Community Safety Action Strategy establishes a framework that focuses on prevention and community connection. It highlights the relationships, systems, and opportunities that help young people thrive and gives neighbors confidence that their community cares for them. By putting this plan into action, we are creating neighborhoods where everyone can feel safe, supported, and empowered to shape the future they want to see."

District 5 Council Member Joe Bushnell

"This Community Safety Action Strategy must be more than a plan on paper—its true value comes from effective implementation that delivers real, measurable results for our neighborhoods. Public safety goes beyond responding to crime and requires coordinated efforts across departments and meaningful partnerships with the community. When we all work together, focusing on prevention and connection, we can build a safer Tacoma for everyone."

At-Large Council Member Kristina Walker

"Safety today is about investing in a broad continuum of services and actions that help our community members live, work, and play without the fear of harm, including the important work of our law enforcement officers. When I think about safety, I also think about how our urban environment—from our roads to our streetlights—needs to make those walking and rolling feel welcome and safe.  By looking at safety through a diverse portfolio of work, including promoting belonging and building welcoming neighborhoods, we are better positioned to make strides preventing violence and crime for generations to come."

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