Murder, robbery, residential burglary, commercial burglary and motor theft are down in Federal Way, while drug arrests are up, according to statistics released by the Federal Way Police Department.

On Dec. 5, the city announced that preliminary data from the Federal Way Police Department showed that crime rates in Federal Way have decreased more than 11% compared to last year. Murder is down 50%, robbery is down 42%, residential burglary is down 18%, commercial burglary is down 8% and motor vehicle theft is down 52%, though drug arrests are up 402%, according to the police department.

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell said he thinks this is a direct result of police officers’ ability to engage in vehicle pursuits when before they were not allowed — referring to new legislation under Initiative 2113. Ferrell said the crimes listed in the city’s announcement are what one of his bosses referred to when he was a King County prosecutor as “quality of life crimes.”

Ferrell said he thinks the word has gotten out that officers can engage in vehicular pursuits, which prevents crime, but they have also been able to get more criminals off the streets. Ferrell said he believes the increase in drug arrests is also contributing to the reduction in the crimes.

Ferrell cited a past law the Legislature had created that required two prior warnings for any drug offenses before they could be arrested, which created a de facto legalization of drugs. Ferrell said now that this is not the case, and FWPD can hold offenders accountable, which is why drug offenses are up 402%.

“I would say first and foremost that people who are using drugs and especially on the street, they’re in crisis and, as a result of that, they are victimizing other people through thefts, robberies and other crimes,” Ferrell said. “But secondarily, I think it’s really important to note that people using drugs are really endangering themselves as well. So this is really about making the community safer and getting people who are abusing drugs in a better place.”

Ferrell said he thinks the car theft number will keep dropping, and he hopes robbery numbers will continue to drop as well, but he wants to see the number of crimes trending downward everywhere, which is what they work on every day.

Regarding crimes that have increased, the data shows that year to date, the number of forcible sex offenses increased 5% from 76 to 80; simple assaults increased 6% from 708 to 747; intimidation increased 123% from 112 to 250; kidnapping increased 142% from 12 to 29; larceny increased 8% from 2,193 to 2,362; extortion and blackmail increased 25% from 8 to 10; and general underage pornography crime increased 121% from 14 to 31.