Councilmember Pedersen Update on Seattle Police Department Staffing

A neighbor would like to share this public safety information that District 4 Councilman Pedersen , which includes Laurelhurst, posted in his latest bulletin .

public safety

Fewer officers, increased police response time

In my April and May newsletters, I detailed the alarming decline in the number of SPD officers and detectives; the loss of nearly a third of our front-line officers and scouts, even as our city's population went in the opposite direction; last increase of 25%. 10 years, from 600,000 people in 2010 to around 750,000 people today. Meanwhile, we still don't see enough emergency response options. It is therefore not surprising that police take longer to respond to violent crimes in progress (priority 1 calls) and often fail to respond to lower-priority calls. As I have said many times, I am very concerned about the police manpower crisis, as we have lost over 300 officers and detectives in the last two and a half years. No other city department has lost more than a third of its front-line staff, and for a department so critical to a comprehensive approach to public safety, I think that deserves special attention. From what I heard on those calls, there is still a lot of work to be done to restore trust. I'm afraid this officer and detective's burnout is going to get worse next month because of a new state law ( SHB 1701 ) . Unfortunately, this new state law provides a financial incentive for officers eligible to retire to retire before July 1, 2022 before the special benefit expires. I look forward to Mayor Harrell's next safety plan, which I hope will include an effective strategy to not only recruit, but retain our experienced officers. We need to refocus our efforts on conservation. we need to retain highly qualified officers because recruitment takes a long time and we lose more officers than we recruit. I welcome the compromise resolution and council bill passed by the Council on May 24, 2022 by a vote of 6 to 3, and we must do more. Here are the remarks he prepared for the Committee on Public Safety and Human Services on June 14, 2022:

"Many city leaders have said they want to create data-driven policies and budgets, yet again we are faced with this troubling fact: what are we doing to hear from our constituents? I recently attended six different roll calls (at the start of their patrol shifts) and i have heard firsthand from public safety officers about their low morale and lack of confidence for various reasons; King County Jail often refuses to discuss suspects that SPD agents pose a threat to their lives. Bring justice and service, and city leaders do not enough to keep agents while other jurisdictions offer bonuses and simple gestures like letting officers drive their own cars and providing technology to keep them safe.I objected to the 50% payment requirement as a mistake and a le presented legislation 9 months ago to keep the police, but I was rejected by several colleagues.The recruitment of new officers to replace the hundreds of officers that Seat replacing those left is essential, but it takes time and ignores the expertise of our existing officers, so I hope Mayor Harrell's soon-to-be-released public safety plan also includes immediate and solid measures. maintenance . A way to make sure Seattle never loses another officer. -- Councilor Alex Pedersen

Click here for the Q1 2022 response time report. To apply to become a Seattle police officer , click here. For the May 20 Seattle Times editorial titled "Mayor Harrell, Seattle Police Department Stop Blue Leak With Hiring Incentives," click here .

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