from KOMO

Seattle police announce change to shift schedules in order to combat
staffing shortages

by Taylor Corlew, KOMO News digital producerTuesday, February 14th 2023
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In this file photo, a Seattle police cruiser responds to an incident.
(KOMO News)
Seattle Police vehicles parked outside the city's East Precinct on Nov.
18, 2022. (KOMO)
FILE – A Seattle Police Department patch on an officer’s uniform. (KOMO
News)
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In this file photo, a Seattle police cruiser responds to an incident.

SEATTLE, Wash. — The Seattle Police Department (SPD) recently announced
a new shift schedule for all patrolling officers that will take effect
on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

The change comes as a result of a review process to ensure SPD has the
necessary staffing during the peak hours of calls despite limited staff.

Shifts will begin to have overlapping hours to reduce low staffing
during shift changes.

RELATED: Seattle police chief admits city has work to do addressing
violent crime

The goal of the change is to allow more flexibility for addressing the
recent short staffing the department has been experiencing, especially
five days a week, according to SPD.

Also, instead of working 9-hour shifts, officers will now work 10-hour
shifts. SPD patrol officers will move from four days on, two days off to
four days on, three days off.

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Department leaders will monitor the effects of the changes and will make
any adjustments necessary to limit potential impacts on SPD response
times and public safety, according to SPD.

Conversation8 Comments
Your voice matters. Discussions are moderated for civility. See our
guidelines.

mossback
9 hours ago
It's going to be a long road to get the department back to where we need
it. We need to fully support SPD, fully fund SPD and actually increase
the budget for SPD by at least 30% and, ideally, 40%. We need to hire at
least 500 additional officers. After the damage the shameful clowncil
and prior mayors have done this is not going to happen quickly. But we
must make it happen. Replacing the exodus of deranged council members
next year with sane and moderate people is a crucial step. Vote wisely.

JDutton
10 hours ago
So now the plan is to burn out the reminding officers you have?

Glen865
4 hours ago
SPD patrol officers will move from four days on, two days off to four
days on, three days off.

stayofmylawn
47 minutes ago
Now they got one more day off to look for another place to work.

Williams
29 minutes ago
Seattle deserves this. Seattle PD should only provide officers on duty
during daylight only, as it is too dangerous after dark.

starshaped
4 hours ago
Seattle (pop. 751,000) has 1,200 sworn officers. For comparison, Boston
(664,000) has 2,139. Are there any fools here who still support defund
the police?

MarkyMark
3 hours ago
Sorry to burst your "defunded SPD" fantasy bubble, but the SPD budget
this year is actually higher than it was last year, and in 2022 it was
higher than in 2021. The reason they have a staffing shortage is
because nobody wants the job. They have the funds to hire hundreds more
officers, they just can't get anyone to apply.

Seattlesucks
15 minutes ago
Of course the SPD budget is higher this year. Tax paying citizens now
have to pay more to try and attract police officers to this city. Due
to the exodus, we now have to compensate with more dollars than if the
exodus didn't take place.

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