The Seattle Police Department and Mayor Mike McGinn are trumpeting the success today of "Operation Blade Runner," a campaign that began in April and resulted in apprehending dozens of alleged street-level drug dealers in the Pike/Pine corridor of downtown. Of the 42 suspects identified by undercover officers, 29 were arrested last weekend.

"The successful round up and arrest of known drug dealers will help support a safer downtown environment for Seattle residents and visitors," Mayor Mike McGinn gushed in a statement today on the SPD Blotter. Officers had identified the alleged dealers months ago in undercover stings and waited to make arrests until they could build a strong case. "I commend our police department on the success of this operation and thank the Sheriff’s Office for their support," says McGinn

But others disgree with McGinn's idea of success.

"There is no basis to believe that this approach to street-level drug activity will result in any reduction in the overall level of problematic street crime downtown," says Lisa Daugaard, deputy director of the Defender Association, a public defense firm. "It may move it from one street corner to the next."

Under McGinn, a previous sweep of drug dealers in Pioneer Square was heralded as an effective means to wipe out the area's leading narcotics dealers. Upon closer scrutiny of court files, however, all those dealers turned out to have only the most minute quantity of drugs on their person and little to no money (with the exception of one man who had nearly $600). These drug sweeps in Seattle have historically resulted in picking up unsophisticated addicts, who are overwhelmingly nonwhite. A report by University of Washington researcher Katherine Beckett examined these trends nearly a decade ago, finding that "blacks are significantly over-represented, and whites under-represented, among those arrested for delivering serious drugs in Seattle."

"We should stop acting as though that is accomplishing something and look a little deeper at what leads these individuals to commit these crimes, and find solutions," Daugaard adds. "I think there is a growing consensus that that is a better approach, and we should stop talking as if the old way has any chance of working."

The Stranger has requested case files to find out more information about this particular sweep.