Seattle Police Reprise 'SODA' Zones to Stop Drug Dealers
To address a rise in drug-related crime, police officials in Seattle, Wash., are reviving an old program called Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA), aimed at keeping drug dealers out of certain parts of the city, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Sept. 13.
Originally used in the 1990s, SODA allowed police to pick up a suspect even if no crime was committed or no suspicious activity was taking place.
SODA came to an end because the piles of paperwork generated by the program were difficult for police departments to manage. Furthermore, changes made by judges at the urging of public defenders and social-service agencies made the program unenforceable.
But the Seattle Police Department, the City Attorney's Office and the King County Drug Court are resurrecting SODA to catch small-time dealers involved in drug court.
Under the old program, SODA orders were issued to anyone arrested on a drug charge as a condition of pretrial release, post-sentence probation, or both. Under the new version of the program that takes effect Oct. 1, SODA orders would only apply to low-level drug dealers who choose to go through drug court rather than the regular court system.
About 20 zones are included in the SODA orders, covering about half of Seattle and most of the downtown area.
"It does not eliminate the problem, but it can chip away at it," said Clark Kimerer, deputy police chief. "Obviously, we want to keep the sellers and the buyers on the run. We create an atmosphere of threat to their enterprise."
Mary Taylor, program manager for the city's drug court, said the zones not only benefit the neighborhoods, but the people banned from them, as well. "Unless they live in that area, there's no reason for them to be hanging around in those areas where there's drug dealing," she said. "It's not so much Big Brother as it is an attempt to protect them."
But some social-service agencies remain concerned about the program. Ron Jackson, executive director of Evergreen Treatment Services, a methadone clinic in south Seattle, said that during SODA's last incarnation some clients were arrested for simply transferring buses in a prohibited zone.
Jackson said such problems should have been solved before the program was used again. "You may in fact be creating a social harm instead of a social good," said Jackson, adding that the program could deter addicted individuals from using needle-exchange and medical services downtown.
Public defenders also raised concerns about civil rights. "From a defense perspective, any time you limit freedom to associate and travel it has to be given strict scrutiny," said Dave Chapman, managing director of the Associated Counsel for the Accused, a public-defense agency that contracts with the King County Drug Court.
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