from
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2023/11/seattle-want-to-hire-more-cops-federal-recommendations-suggest-adjusting-police-department-to-rapid-changes-and-shifts-in-community-expectations/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAqKggAIhAmo7TV7AzgculV0n0fqkc7KhQICiIQJqO01ewM4HLpVdJ9H6pHOzDIt-QB&utm_content=rundown

Seattle, want to hire more cops? Federal recommendations suggest
adjusting police department to ‘rapid changes and shifts in community
expectations’

Posted on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - 8:40 am by CHS Staff
Seattle has been criticized for its struggles hiring and keeping cops
but the problems aren’t unique to the city. The Justice Department has
released a new report detailing recommendations “to address the
challenges in recruitment and retention law enforcement agencies are
facing nationwide.”

The new report commissioned by Attorney General Merrick Garland
recommends police leaders do more to understand the needs of the
communities they serve while modernizing outdated hiring practices.

The new report attributes the staffing issues to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the shifting labor market, officer safety concerns, and community
response to issues like use of force and biased policing.

While Seattle public safety advocates have been quick to blame the
Seattle City Council for efforts to shift more spending toward services
and away from traditional policing, the larger factors around the labor
market and the proliferation of gun violence are also major issues when
it comes to recruiting cops.

Seattle recruitment efforts by Mayor Bruce Harrell have focused on
elements like a hiring bonus plan hoped to grow the city’s police force
to 1,500 sworn officers by 2027. It currently rosters fewer than 1,000.

Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz has rolled out new strategies including
changes in scheduling as he has adjusted to the staffing reality.

The federal report says police forces like Seattle should reconsider
“officer eligibility requirements to better reflect modern police work,”
and make changes “modernizing and accelerating the hiring process,”
“investing in officer health, safety, and wellbeing,” and “working with
community leaders to target recruitment efforts toward diverse
candidates and potential recruits who might otherwise not consider law
enforcement as a career.”

“In recent years, several significant events have led to rapid changes
and shifts in community expectations of what people want from their
police and other public servants,” the report begins.

Seattle, meanwhile, must also arrive at an agreement on a new contract
with the Seattle Police Officers Guild which remains under negotiation
in a protracted labor battle that continues to flare publicly with
disputes over how many sworn officers the city needs.

Seattle’s police force is also moving forward without federal oversight
for the first time in 12 years after a consent decree brought over
issues of excessive force and community trust was lifted earlier this year.

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11 COMMENTS
SPD propaganda busters
SPD propaganda busters
1 day ago
Here’s an Instagram post from last year which provides some more context
for that line graph: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChIaeM3P2-M/?img_index=1

Reply
d4l3d
d4l3d
1 day ago
Reply to SPD propaganda busters
Very valuable link. Thank you.

Reply
d4l3d
d4l3d
1 day ago
It’s like trying to reform while swelling a legally sanctioned, poorly
trained street gang. No one questions the basic assumptions of a police
force in spite of decades of study.

Reply
So tired of this
So tired of this
1 day ago
I don’t know that we need MORE cops, given that they manage to send five
patrol cars out to detain a single teenager stealing construction
equipment, and CHS Blog just reported a huge police response for the guy
who accidentally shot himself in the foot by accident.

The problem seems more like they just aren’t deployed well at all. Given
all the crap I see out in the open every day on Broadway, it astounds me
that there’s never any regular police presence there. And last night on
a busy Halloween night, there were no cops downtown around 3rd and Pike,
where you’d expect a little increased security. Why can’t we have some
beat cops to help deter crime before it starts We live off Broadway, and
I’ve been dealing with more tweaked out trespassers (sometimes with
weapons) on my property than in any previous year. It has to stop.
People clearly think they can get away with this behavior, and it shows.

Reply
zach
zach
1 day ago
Reply to So tired of this
About 2 months ago, I happened upon two bike cops patrolling near
Tashkent Park, and was thrilled for their presence. They told me they
were only patrolling one shift a week, but that the East Precinct
commanders might be expanding that. But this obviously hasn’t happened,
probably due to the greatly reduced police force in recent years. I hope
that Mayor Harrell’s effort to hire more officers is successful, because
that is badly needed.

Reply
ltfd
ltfd
17 hours ago
Reply to So tired of this
You are clearly very wise & intelligent…

Reply
Leave Tents in the Street Alone
Leave Tents in the Street Alone
1 day ago
SPD is full of liars. This is a very misleading graph.

Reply
MirandaRosalise
MirandaRosalise
1 day ago
“Want to hire more cops”

No thanks. I’d like to demolish the entire department and start over.
Thanks for asking though!

Reply
check yourself
check yourself
1 day ago
This graph is wildly misleading and deceptive.

Reply
Smoothtooperate
Smoothtooperate
1 day ago
No union, no qualified immunity

Instead pay best in nation wages and benefits. Demand the best educated
and highly motivated cops you can find.

Reply
Nation of Inflation Gyration
Nation of Inflation Gyration
23 hours ago
Community Expectations like: “If you are in mental distress and call the
cops, they’ll shoot you, then insist you rang in to orchestrate a
‘suicide by cop’ and tell anyone who hosts them on their show that story”

Reply