According to a memo drafted by the Council’s policy analysts, the new law is meant to give Seattle police officers new authority to engage with people in drug-market hotspots in an effort to break them up.
But in the same memo, the authors say they have not “found any rigorous evaluations suggesting that the use of SODA orders (when issued by judges and comprehensively enforced by police departments) have the effect of improving public order, public safety, quality of life and economic vibrancy.”
The analysis continues that exclusion orders may encourage recidivism without addressing underlying drug dependency; could just move drug markets elsewhere in the city; and could open
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