Controversial proposal to ban drug or prostitution arrests from certain areas of Seattle passes committee after tense meeting

SEATTLE – Controversial proposals to ban people arrested for drug or prostitution offenses from entering certain Seattle neighborhoods were rejected Tuesday after a tense meeting of the Public Safety Committee.

The Seattle City Council reported a “loud disruption” of the meeting as the committee attempted to conclude the public hearing, resulting in a lengthy adjournment. After a series of disruptions from the audience, several people were asked to leave the meeting. Officials later discovered vandalism on the City Hall grounds by those who were kicked out of the meeting.

The proposals, known as SOAP and SODA zones, would create certain areas of the city where people arrested for drug or prostitution offenses would not be allowed to go, such as the International District and the Downtown and Aurora neighborhoods.

The proposal to stay out of prostitution areas would put a law against loitering by prostitutes back on the city books after it was unanimously rejected by the Seattle City Council in 2020. The reason given was that it would endanger sex workers who are already at high risk of trafficking, abuse and exploitation, and that data showed that similar laws in other cities disproportionately affect people of color.

The new ordinance would make it a misdemeanor to sell or buy sex acts in the City of Seattle and make “promoting loitering for the purpose of prostitution” a gross misdemeanor. This charge would apply to anyone who repeatedly brings another person to a known prostitution area and/or repeatedly observes or supervises one or more persons loitering there.

The ordinance would also create SOAP zones. These zones encompass areas of Seattle with high levels of illegal prostitution or other related criminal activity. A municipal court judge would have the authority to ban anyone charged or convicted of a prostitution-related crime from entering these areas of the city.

An amendment to the ordinance proposed by Council President and bill sponsor Cathy Moore would limit SOAP orders to purchasers and facilitators of sex trafficking, require police to train sex trafficking victim groups, and create arrest policies that prioritize diversion and referral to support services over conviction and prison time.

A similar ordinance introduced by Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison would create Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) zones where people accused of drug offenses would not be allowed to stay. Davison said the legislation is aimed at combating open-air drug markets and affects limited areas of the city, including parts of Downtown Seattle and the International District. The proposed changes aim to add more SODA zones to the ordinance, including Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square, the University District and another part of the Belltown neighborhood.

Opponents of both ordinances fear that they would unfairly target people of color and increase the number of contacts they have with them. Instead, they are calling for more resources and more support for people struggling with addiction or victims of sex trafficking. The ACLU of Washington previously sent a letter to the Seattle City Council warning that the ordinance would “not only cruelly target our most vulnerable populations and expand police powers to harass our neighbors,” but that the proposals would also criminalize poverty and substance abuse.

The ACLU further wrote that the proposals raise “serious constitutional concerns.” It said that giving law enforcement the power to stop, search and detain people based on their perceived status as people in the sex trade or as drug users would allow police to profile, harass and make arrests based on “appearance rather than criminal activity.” The organization further said that imposing a ban on entering a SOAP or “stay out of drug area” (SODA) zone before a trial would raise concerns about violating the constitutional right to freedom of movement and social contact.