Mayor Mike McGinn assembled a task force of city departments earlier this week to explore using social services to combat crime and reduce recidivism in Seattle.

According to Mayor McGinn's communications director, Beth Hester, an "intergovernmental department team" of officials from the Seattle Police Department, Human Services Department, city budget office, and public health department  are in the process of collecting and analyzing data on crime "hot spots" and people repeatedly contacted by police.

As PubliCola reported earlier today, officers in SPD's West Precinct recently compiled a list of 54 criminals frequently contacted and arrested by police in the Belltown area, who patrol officers often refer to as "high fliers."

Hester says McGinn was briefed on the same list Wednesday, which led to the formation of the task force.

Hester says the group of city officials is trying to determine whether the city could recapture police resources by "looking at what worked with chronic public inebriates."

In 2005, the Downtown Emergency Service Center opened 1811 Eastlake, getting 75 chronic alcoholics off the streets, providing access to case workers, and reducing their use of public services at hospitals and jails.

"You had a lot of folks who are burning through a lot of resources," Hester says. "They were just cycling through the system."

The program was a success, and has reportedly saved taxpayers about $4 million a year.

Now, according to Hester, the city is working toward "emulating that model on this population as well," Hester said, although she noted that the city isn't necessarily getting ready to open another facility to house high fliers.

"We have no idea what the solution is," Hester says. "We need to look at the holistic picture of who these people are and why they're having so many contacts with the justice system."