Domestic Assaults Street Racing Big Problems in Yakima
Yakima City Council members will be talking about street racing and domestic violence during a study session at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon. The study session starts at 5:00PM and will be carried live at yakimawa.gov.
The Yakima Police Department will give council members an overview of the two city problems and suggest ways to help those in domestic violence and help put an end to street racing.
THE COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER A NEW STREET RACING ORDINANCE
Earlier this year city leaders asked staff to develop a draft ordinance that would specifically ban street racing within city limits. The council will look at and talk about the proposed ordinance on Tuesday. Police say street racing has been a problem for years. They say there are popular areas where street racers gather in the city and they're concerned someone will be hurt or killed.
POLICE SAY 961 CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HAPPENED IN YAKIMA IN 2020
The city council will also hear a presentation from the Yakima Police Department about the problem of domestic violence. Police say they see a high number of domestic incidents every year that result in serious assaults or murders. Domestic violence cases now account for 28% of the caseload of city and county prosecutors.
In 2020 the city of Yakima reported 961 cases of domestic violence. During that same year the city of Tacoma saw 771 cases and the city of Vancouver reported 742 cases. Both cities are much larger than Yakima but Yakima still had more cases. Police and city officials say they want to form a Trauma Informed Victim Centered Focus to get more specialized help for domestic violence victims.
The city study session on the two issues starts at 5:00PM on Tuesday at Yakima City Hall.