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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 3 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 4 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 18 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 16 |
| 1884 | 12 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 22 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 35 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 23 |
| 1892 | 63 |
| 1893 | 67 |
| 1894 | 66 |
| 1895 | 58 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 9 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 36 |
| 1904 | 22 |
| 1908 | 7 |
| 1909 | 36 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1928 | 3 |
| 1929 | 1 |
612 stories matching crime
- The Futility of the Gallows
One month after Seattle's first judicial execution of a white man, the local press questions whether state-sanctioned violence actually deters crime or simply breeds contempt for the law.
- The Man Who Was Hanged Twice
A condemned murderer facing execution in Colfax reveals his harrowing, accidental survival of a previous lynching by an angry mob.
- The Murder That Made Washington Decide Who Counted as Tribal
In 1903 the state Supreme Court upheld Tommy Santiago Howard's manslaughter conviction for killing Kate Arquette on the Puyallup Reservation, ruling that because he had no tribal ties, state court—not federal court—had jurisdiction.
- Seattle's Crime Surge and the Police Problem
City Hall faces criticism for its ineffective police department as crime rates climb.
- The Desperado Who Surrendered
A Big Bend man, accused of a gruesome triple killing three years prior, walked into the sheriff’s office to clear his name.
- The 'Virtuous Spasm' of 1876: Seattle’s Early Critique of Political Greed
An editorial from the Puget Sound Dispatch captures the simmering public outrage over a government scandal in Washington Territory, drawing parallels between national corruption and the mismanagement of local university land grants.
- Judge Bell’s Hard Line on City Crime
A Seattle judge hands down stiff prison sentences for robbery to deter the criminal element in the city.
- Theft at Simon & Brownstone
A store in the city is broken into by thieves, prompting calls for more vigorous policing as property crimes rise.
- Mayor Claims Safety Amidst Crime Wave
The Times clashes with Mayor Wright’s assertion of civic order following a string of violent crimes.
- A Tribe Executes Its Own Murderer Before the Agent Arrives
The Colville band hangs a man who killed a fellow Indian and committed a fresh crime, administering last rites before the government agent can reach camp.
- The Vagabond Fortune-Teller: Seattle Arrests 'Madame Malla' for the Crime of Telling Futures
In May 1877, the city’s law enforcement decided that predicting the future was a crime against public order. They dragged 'Madame Malla' from her shop, citing vagrancy, despite her having done nothing but read palms.
- The Spangle Farmhouse Horror
Henry P. Schmidt is found guilty of the brutal murder of a local farmer, whose body he attempted to incinerate to hide the crime.
- The Shack at the Foot of Blanchard
After arresting three burglars, detectives discover a cache of stolen goods in a North Seattle shanty, linking the suspects to a series of housebreaking crimes.
- The 'Stall-Fed Lawyer' and the City's Vice
A local newspaper calls out a deputy sheriff for failing to raid gambling joints while posturing as a reformer in the city council.
- The Unchecked Crime Wave in Blackchapel
A criminal gang operating in broad daylight in Seattle's south end finds total immunity while the police ignore victim reports.
- The Burglary of a Stage Carpenter’s Home
A theatrical family returns to their Seattle home to find their belongings ransacked, exposing the city's ongoing struggle with property crime.
- The Preacher, the Murders and the Hypnotist Who Stormed the Pulpit
Rev. J. F. Gibson came to Seattle to talk about the two girls butchered in his own church last April. Forty people showed up, the sermon turned into a grievance against the newspapers — and then a stage hypnotist leapt on the platform and dared him to be put under.
- The Penalty for a Paper Crime
A man's attempt to exercise his right to vote leads to a felony conviction over his status as a former convict, testing the limits of the law.
- The 'Scare' That Cleaned Up the Streets
Police Chief Duley claims a drop in serious crime following the successful dismantling of the Daggett gang.
- The Chain Gang Escapee
A petty thief learns the hard way that jumping from the chain gang in Buck's Canyon only results in a much longer stay in the county jail.
- The Elusive Dr. Pillsbury Caught in Spokane
A notorious swindler wanted for crimes across Washington and Idaho faces a legal battle over his extradition.
- Fifty Murders, Not One Hanging: Seattle Puts Its Courts on Trial
A Post-Intelligencer editorial argues that endless technical appeals have made King County a place where killers walk free — and warns that the resulting public fury is the courts' own fault.
- The Bank Heist Gone Wrong
After an attempted robbery of the First Bank of White Bluffs, the one man who stayed to stand trial is found guilty.
- The Ghost Crime of the Head of the Bay
A man turned himself into the sheriff for a murder that happened only in his own whiskey-soaked mind.
- The Tragedy of the 'Professional Beggar'
A man sentenced to three months in the county jail for vagrancy writes a desperate letter from his cell, claiming he is dying and pleading for the bail money he cannot afford.
Also about this, in other words
- The Need for a Reform School
A local editorial argues that Seattle’s juvenile justice system is failing, treating young offenders as criminals rather than rehabilitation candidates.
- The Inhumanity of the City Jail
A plea for the humane treatment of women in Seattle's overcrowded, mixed-gender prison system.
- A Watch Snatched on Howard Street, and a Call for a Real Jail
A late-night robbery in the alley by Rima's store prompts the paper to warn that the gold rush is importing 'tough citizens' faster than Spokane Falls can lock them up.
- Four Shirts, Soft Hands, and Ten Years: Olympia Sends a Window-Smasher to the Penitentiary
A burglar who broke into two downtown jewelry stores and made off with a watch and some plated ware gets the maximum from Judge Robinson — and nearly faints when he hears it.
- The Mysterious Chinatown Robbery Trial
Local tensions rise as a merchant faces a suspicious prosecution, sparking a retaliatory street brawl.
- A Thief's Thin Lips Tremble at the Word 'Guilty'
R. H. Ford, an opium user accused in the Famous Clothing House burglary, expected eight years in Walla Walla. Judge Humes gave him three, and Ford congratulated himself on the luck.
- The Riot at the Agricultural College
A call for police intervention after students mobbed the incoming college president and a regent.
- The Violent 'John Doe'
A man arrested for peddling suspected stolen goods in Seattle fights back against officers and is sent to jail for contempt of court.