Seattle Mayor McGinn and Chief of Police John Diaz announced on Monday that an additional 15 to 25 officers are now being assigned to monitor various "nightlife zones" throughout the city. The new effort is part of the Seattle Nightlife Initiative, which is intended to improve public safety and aid in proving the local economy.

The patrols, which will begin this weekend and continue on Friday and Saturday nights through September, will be made up of non-uniformed, on-duty personnel primarily from Anti-Crime Teams, SWAT, and on-duty DUI officers.

Belltown, Capitol Hill, and the University District are also included in the effort. The areas singled out for monitoring, though, are not just the typical nightlife zones. In West Seattle, two areas singled out in West Seattle are Alki and High Point.

Officers explained the targeting of such areas by saying that the goal of the effort is to put more officers on the street where people are out and about. Assistant Police Chief Mike Sanford said, "This isn't strictly about nightclubs or bars and taverns," he said, "this is really about where we have a lot of people out and where we have a lot of activity. So this is putting police where the activity is."

The goal is to assist in reducing street disorder and violence, and to reduce the fear of crime. John Diaz explained that, while overall crime rates are down, fear of crime is up.

It wasn't clear from the announcement how central reduction of drunk driving is to the effort, but sources did say that DUI officers are among the personnel to be assigned to the patrol efforts.

Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer, "Extra beat cops assigned to nightlife areas," Casey McNerthey, 6 June 2011